Strengthening Safety and Security through Regional Cooperation in South East Europe
Most recently, SEESAC implemented SALW destruction activities funded by the European Union (EU) under the EU COUNCIL DECISION 2010/179/CFSP, dated 11 March 2010, in support of SEESAC arms control activities in the Western Balkans, and within the framework of the EU Strategy to Combat the Illicit Accumulation and Trafficking of SALW and their Ammunition.
Through its support to the Ministry of Interior, in Serbia, these activities resulted in a disposal of 17,000 SALW in 2012 and 28,285 SALW in 2010. In Croatia, this number reached 33,091 destroyed SALW as a result of the activities implemented in the years 2011 and 2012.
SEESAC's previous activities within this realm include:
- Assisting the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia in planning and executing a destruction of 27,000 SALW in 2009.
- Providing technical advice and assistance to the Republic of Montenegro, Republic of Serbia and UNDP Sofia for the destruction of 30,387 SALW in total and ammunition collected during their respective 2003 national weapons amnesties.
- Providing ‘seed funding’ to further develop Montenegrin, Serbian and Bulgarian national destruction capacities.
- Providing necessary support to the Moldovan Ministry of Internal Affairs, in 2009, to destroy 2,374 of SALW confiscated and voluntarily surrendered since 2007. The Moldovan Government has destroyed over 6,000 weapons since 2005.
From 2002 to date, through collective SEESAC and UNDP efforts, the amount of unwanted and surplus SALW and ammunition in the Western Balkans region has diminished by approximately 290,000 pieces of SALW.
Before directly supporting destruction activities, SEESAC assisted the destruction efforts by developing a framework and taking the responsibility for the future of the Regional Micro-Disarmament Standards and Guidelines (RMDS/G). SEESAC agreed to take on this task in May 2003, during the RACVIAC sponsored seminar on “SALW - A year after Implementation of the Stability Pact Plan.”
Today, SEESAC’s RMDS/Gs on SALW Destruction help ensure that all safety precautions are taken during the SALW destruction activities. The RMDS/G reflect the ongoing development of operational procedures, practices and norms, and are constantly updated to reflect the latest developments and practices in Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) Control. The SEESAC developed RMDS/Gs were used as a basis for the International Small Arms Control Standards.