iTrace IV

The illicit proliferation of conventional arms and their ammunition is a major factor undermining States’ stability and exacerbating conflicts, which poses a serious threat to peace and regional and international security.

The iTrace project is a global conflict-weapon monitoring initiative that operates in more than 40 conflict-affected states, and aims to provide policymakers, conventional arms control experts and conventional arms export control officers with relevant information to develop effective,evidence-based strategies and actions against the illicit spread of conventional arms and their ammunition.

To achieve this goal, the project tackle illicit proliferation of conventional arms and their ammunition in several ways: through tailored support to EU Member States arms export control authorities and arms control policy makers, but also by enhancing the capacity of national authorities in conflict-affected States to identify and trace illicit conventional arms and ammunition. In this perspective, the initiative also foresees to support the continued maintenance of a user-friendly global information management system on diverted or trafficked conventional arms and their ammunition (‘iTrace’), as well as to enhance the frequency and duration of in-field research into conventional arms and their ammunition illegally circulating in conflict-affected areas to generate iTrace data.

At the same time, the project aims at increasing awareness through outreach on the findings of the project, promoting the purpose and available functions of iTrace, as well as by producing key policy issue reports, drawn from the data generated by field investigations. Among the objectives of the actions, also the tracing of conventional arms and their ammunition, with the cooperation of EU Member States and non-EU States, as the most effective means to establish and verify, to the fullest extent possible, the mechanisms behind the diversion of conventional arms and their ammunition to unauthorised users.

The stakeholders of the initiative are the Conflict Armament Research Ltd. (as the beneficiary of the EU grant), national authorities in conflict-affected States, EU policymakers, conventional arms control experts and conventional arms export control officers.