The Serbian Ministry of Defense (MoD), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) officially launched a joint Capacity Development Programme for Conventional Ammunition Stockpile Management for the Republic of Serbia (CASM). The initiation of the project was marked by an official exchange of the signed agreements between Mr. Dragan Sutanovac, Minister of Defence, Mr. William Infante, UNDP Resident Representative Republic of Serbia and Ambassador Dimitrios Kypreos, Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia.
On 26 January, the SEESAC team met with representatives of RACVIAC - Center for Security Cooperation in South East Europe. Ambassador Nikola Todorcevski, Director of RACVIAC and Lt Col Stefan Miene, RACVIAC Program Manager for Cooperative Security Environment met with Dr. Ivan Zverzhanovski, SEESAC Team Leader a.i., Bojana Balon WPON Project Manager and Iva Savic SEESAC’s Communications Officer to discuss ongoing activities and future opportunities for collaboration. SEESAC and RACVIAC overlap in many key focus areas such as security sector reform, international cooperation and arms control in Southeast Europe.
The Steering Committee of the South East Europe Regional Approach to Stockpile Reduction (RASR) met on 17 January 2012 in Belgrade, Serbia. Chaired by the SEESAC’s Team Leader a.i. Dr. Ivan Zverzhanovski, the meeting was attended by RASR Steering Committee members Gregor Sancanin and Blaz Mihelic of the International Trust Fund (ITF), Scott Willason of NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA), Eric Berman from the Small Arms Survey (SAS) and John Hesford representing the US Embassy in Belgrade.
This holiday season, the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia (MUP), with the support of SEESAC initiated a nation-wide campaign which aims to raise awareness of the dangers posed by celebratory shootings. The objective of the campaign is to prevent firearm-related tragedies by sensitizing citizens to the risks posed by the use of firearms. The first phase will raise awareness through posters and informative leaflets distributed at police stations and other public places.
On 20 December 2011, the Regional Steering Group for Small Arms and Light Weapons (RSG) held its annual meeting in Belgrade, Serbia. Hosted by SEESAC, the meeting gathered national SALW focal points from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as well as representatives of the RCC, the OSCE Conflict Prevention Center and UNDP Country Offices in Croatia and Montenegro.
The industry outreach seminar on licensing procedures for the import and export of arms, military equipment and dual-use goods was held on 12th December 2011, in the "Sava Centar" in Belgrade. The workshop was hosted by the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development (MERR) of the Republic of Serbia, with the support of the SEESAC and Germany’s Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA), through the financial assistance provided by the Kingdom of Norway and the European Union respectively.
On 9 December, the final event of the ‘Less Arms, Less Tragedies’ campaign, which strarted four years ago in Split and has visited all Croatian cities since, took place. Ongoing since 2007, the campaign has been a nationwide effort to prevent firearm-related tragedies by informing citizens about the real dangers of owning a weapon, and encouraging citizens to surrender illegal weapons to the police, without fearing legal consequences. The last phase of this effort by the Croatian Ministry of Interior (MoI) has been financed by the European Union through SEESAC and with the support of the UNDP Croatia.
Women Police Officers Network (WPON) in South East Europe held its 2nd Annual Meeting on 1 December 2011 in Becici. The meeting was jointly organized by UNDP/SEESAC, the South East Europe Police Chiefs Association (SEPCA) and the Police Directorate of Montenegro.
From 29 November through 1 December 2011, the Southeast Europe Police Chiefs Association (SEPCA) held its Annual Coordination Meeting in Becici, Montenegro. Ms. Jelena Vasiljevic, Chair of the Women Police Officers Network Executive Committee, presented before SEPCA the main activities implemented within the Women Police Officers Network project, which is a joint initiative of SEPCA and UNDP/SEESAC-Office for Human Security.
On 29 November 2011, Ms. Kori Udovicki - UN Assistant Secretary-General, UNDP Assistant Administrator and UNDP Regional Director for Europe and CIS met with Mr. Veselin Veljovic - Director of the Police Directorate of Montenegro and President of Southeast Europe Police Chiefs Association (SEPCA). The meeting took place during the SEPCA donators conference, which UNDP took part in.
On 22 November, 2011 representatives of the Croatian Ministry of Interior (MoI), EU Delegation to Croatia, UNDP in Croatia and SEESAC, gathered to officially mark the completion of the infrastructure and security upgrade of MURAT - MoI's central weapons storage.
On 18 November, the third and final module of the Regional Training Course on Stockpile Management, organized by SEESAC with the support of UNDP BiH, was concluded. During this week-long training, 19 operations-level officials from the ministries of defense and interior of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia learned about Stockpile Facilities and Transportation of SALW and Associated Ammunition.
On 10 November, 2011 SEESAC organized a public presentation of the third Regional Report on Arms Exports for 2009 and fourn national annual reports on arms exports produced by the Republic of Albania, Republic of Croatia, Montenegro and the Republic of Serbia.
In the course of the past 10 years, SEESAC supported destruction of surplus and illegal weapons and their ammunitions in countries across the South East and Eastern Europe region. These are images from destruction in various countries.
The Medjimurska campaign took place at Mursko Sredisca and Piskoroved – a Roma community settlement, which the activities in the Vukovarsko-Sremska country included information booths in downtown Vinkovci and awareness rising at the Vinkovci football stadium, during the Croatia National Championship football match between Cibalia and Zadar. The campaign is financed by the European Union through SEESAC and is implemented with the assistance of the UNDP Croatia.
From October 10th-14th, 20 operational level officials from the ministries of defence and interior of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia underwent a training, organized by SEESAC and UNDP Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Inventory Management and Accounting Control Procedures. The curriculum combined both in the classroom and practical, in the field, instructions. This is the second in a series of three training modules on Stockpile Management. The first module took place in September 2011 and it focused on Planning and Managing of Stockpile Locations, while the third and finale module, dedicated to the topic of Stockpile Facilities and Transportation of SALW and Associated Ammunition will be held in November 2011.
From September 12th-16th, 19 operational level officials from the ministries of defence and interior of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia underwent a training, organized by SEESAC and UNDP Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Planning and Managing of Stockpile Locations. The curriculum combined both in the classroom and practical, in the field, instructions. This is the first in a series of three training modules on Stockpile Management. The next two modules are scheduled to take place in October and November of 2011 and will cover Inventory Management and Accounting Control Procedures, as well as Stockpile Facilities and Transportation of SALW and Associated Ammunition.
UNDP/SEESAC together with the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Croatia and in close cooperation with the South East Europe Police Chiefs Association (SEPCA) organized a workshop on Gender and Security within the framework of the Women Police Officers Network in South East Europe (WPON). The aim of this workshop was to further develop the capacity of WPON Council members to act as gender advocates within their police services. Police officers from accross the Balkan region attended the three day seminar which took place in Valbandon, Croatia.
Within the framework of the Programme for Demilitarization in Montenegro (MONDEM), Boro Vuèiniæ, Minister of Defence of Montenegro, Alexander Avanessov, UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative to Montenegro and Sarunas Adomavicius, Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro officially opened the reconstructed 'Taraš' ammunition storage site in Danilovgrad, Montenegro.
The €1.23 million infrastructure upgrade of the ammunition depot ensures that the facility is in line with the internationally accepted security standards. The reconstruction included building of essential infrastructure such as roads, parking areas and facilities for security personnel, as well as security equipment such as perimeter fence, video surveillance equpment, etc.
The presentation of the report was organized on 11 December 2010 in Sofia, Bulgaria, by the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior, SEPCA and SEESAC, with the financial support of the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC). The presentation was attended by 45 participants including representatives of the Ministry of Interior, police unions and NGOs. The discussion focused on the implementation of the report findings and the concrete steps that need to be taken in Bulgaria to improve gender equality in the police service.
In the framework of the action ‘Fewer weapons – fewer tragedies’, which the Ministry of Interior is conducting in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme in the Republic of Croatia, the policemen of the Police Station of Kutina, together with their colleagues from the Police Department of Sisak-Moslavina county and members of the Communal Prevention Council of the town of Kutina, organized a four-hour programme on Tuesday 9th November, related to this important campaign.
On 07 December 2010 the Ministry of Interior (MoI) of the Republic of Serbia destroyed 28,285 surplus and confiscated weapons. The destruction took place at the "Centar za reciklazu" in Zeleznik, near Belgrade.
On 26th November 2010 in Sarajevo, the 1st Annual Meeting of the South East Europe Women Police Officers Network (WPON) was held, during which the WPON was officially launched. At the meeting, jointly organized by SEESAC, the South East Europe Police Chiefs Association (SEPCA) and the Administration of Federal Police in BiH representatives of the nine police services members of WPON elected the first Executive Committee and discussed and approved the annual work plan for 2011. A representative of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia was elected as the first Chair of WPON while the Deputy Chair is a representative of the Ministry of Interior of Croatia. The Executive Committee was completed with the election of a representative of the Ministry of Interior of the Republika Srpska (BiH) as Chair Elect.
The third meeting of the Regional Information Exchange Process on Arms Export Controls took place on 23 - 24 November 2010 in Belgrade, with the participation of delegations from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.
On 23 November 2010, SEESAC organized the presentation of the Regional and National Reports on Arms Exports from the Western Balkans. The aim of the event was to publicize the achievements in transparency and the improvements in arms exports control that have taken place since 2006 as well as to inform the public of the significant level of regional cooperation.
The action ‘Fewer weapons – fewer tragedies’ conducted by MoI in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme in RH has the goal to sensitize the public and motivate the citizens to volunarily surrender weapons, mines and explosives in their illegal possession. The Head of the Police Department of the Osijek-Baranja County, Stipo Rimac, invited Croatian citizens to voluntarily surrender their illegal weapons and informed the present citizens that the weapons would be collected by the police officers. He reminded the citizens that no minor offence or criminal prosecution would be istigated against those who report their illegal weapons.
The Police Department of Zagreb (the City of Zagreb and the county of Zagreb) in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme in the Republic of Croatia, and with financial support of the EU/SEESAC regional program: A Support to Arms Control Activities in the Western Balkans conducted an intensive action from 5 – 21 November 2010: 'Fewer weapons – fewer tragedies’.
On 17 November 2010 in Banja Luka, the Ministry of Interior of the Republika Srpska, with the support of SEESAC, organized the presentation of the report Establishing the Southeast Europe Women Police Officers Network (WPON). Following opening statements and a press conference to mark the launch of the report, a roundtable on the improvement of the position of women in policing and the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325 was held.
On 15 November 2010, the National Police Service of Montenegro, with the support of SEESAC, organized the presentation of the report Establishing the Southeast Europe Women Police Officers Network-Research Findings (WPON). Following opening statements and a press conference to mark the launch of the report, a roundtable on the improvement of the position of women in policing and the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325 was held.
Western Balkans Parliamentary Forum on SALW co-organized by the Parliament of Montenegro and SEESAC took place on 08 November 2010, in Becici within the framework of the Cetinje Parliamentary Forum. The meeting was presided over by Mr. Mevludin Nuhodzic, the Chair of the Committee on Defence and Security of the Parliament of Montenegro, who stated in his opening address that the Parliament had established good foundations to oversee the trade in controlled goods and thus contribute to strengthening the image of Montenegro as a responsible member of the international community.
On the occasion of celebrating the Day of the Town of Koprivnica, on Saturday 6th November, from 9 am to 1 pm the action „Fewer weapons, fewer tragedies“ was launched at the Zrinski square in Koprivnica. On this occasion citizens received the messages on the need to surrender their weapons, ammunition, mines and explosives, which also sensitized them on the risks of holding such dangerous munitions at their homes.
The presentation of the report Establishing the South East Europe Women Police Officers Network – Research Findings took place under the high patronage of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Ms.Jadranka Kosor, in Zagreb, Croatia 5 November 2010. The presentation, followed by the roundtable on the position of women in police services in SEE and mechanisms for gender equality was organized by the Croatian Ministry of Interior and UNDP/SEESAC.
n 29 October 2010, the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), with the support of SEESAC, organized a conference on the activities of BiH institutions in the control of arms imports and exports. The event, which took place within the framework of the Western Balkans Parliamentary Forum on SALW, was attended by Members of Parliament (MPs), high ranking representatives of the executive, representatives of civil society organizations (CSO) representatives of international organizations and MPs from Montenegro and Serbia.
On 28 October 2010 the Administration of Federal Police in BiH, with the support of SEESAC, organized the presentation of the report Establishing the Southeast Europe Women Police Officers Network (WPON). Following a press conference to mark the launch of the report, a roundtable on the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325 was held.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations (MOFTER) of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and SEESAC jointly organized on 28 October 2010 in Sarajevo a seminar on the implementation of legislation on arms imports and exports. The seminar, attended by officials from the Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA) as well as several security agencies, was organized within the framework of SEESAC’s efforts to support the strengthening of arms export controls in the Western Balkans. The seminar was opened by Mr. Dragiša Mekiæ, Assistant Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, who stated that the customs were an essential part of the system of controls and that increasing their capacity to recognize controlled goods as well as their understanding of procedures would significantly contribute to increasing transparency and reducing illicit trafficking.
On 7 October 2010 the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia, with the support of SEESAC organized the launch of the report Establishing the Southeast Europe Women Police Officers Network (WPON). The launch was followed-up by a seminar on the Position of Women in the Police Services of the Southeast Europe and Mechanisms for the Promotion of Gender Equality.
On 8 October 2010 in the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, SEESAC organized a roundtable on parliamentary oversight of arms export controls. The event, which took place within the framework of the Western Balkans Parliamentary Forum on SALW, was a follow-up to the Regional Meeting of the Western Balkans Parliamentary Forum, held in Belgrade on 12 May 2010 T]. The aim of the event was to support the further development of the capacity of Serbian Members of Parliament (MPs) to oversee arms exports.
On 14-15 September 2010 in Belgrade, SEESAC organized a regional seminar on marking and tracing of weapons. The seminar is funded by the European Union (EU) and it is an activity under the EU Council Decision 2010/179/CFSP in support of SEESAC arms control activities in the Western Balkans, in the framework of the EU Strategy to combat the illicit accumulation and trafficking of SALW and their ammunition.
"Less Weapons-Less Tragedies" campaign that is continuously implemented since 2007 in a joint cooperation between Croatian Ministry of Internal Affairs and UN Development Programme, as of this year with financial support from EU, took place in Ogulin on Wednesday, September 8, 2010 with information-points and a two hour cultural and entertainment programme. The goal of this action is to encourage citizens to voluntarily surrender illegal weapons, ammunition and mine-explosive devices and also to warn them about dangers of retained weapons.
On 21-22 June 2010 in Jahorina, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), SEESAC organized a meeting to discuss the Second Regional Report on Arms Exports. The meeting was attended by delegations from Albania, BiH, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
The production of a regional annual report on arms exports is intended to help to consolidate the gains in transparency that have already been made in the region, while also demonstrate an ability and willingness to uphold the commitments associated with the Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP defining common rules governing control of exports of military technology and equipment. The report is a practical example of successful co-operation within the framework of the Regional Co-operation Council (RCC). Moreover the report is evidence of the existing administrative capacity in the region and the desire to further comply with EU policies in the field of export controls.
On 9-10 June 2010, representatives of Ministries of Interior and Police Services from Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina – Federation, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Republika Srpska, Montenegro, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia met in Belgrade for the Interim Steering Committee of the Women Police Officers Network (WPON) in South East Europe.
The meeting was organized by UNDP/SEESAC in close cooperation with the Southeast Europe Police Chiefs Association (SEPCA), and the OSCE Mission to Serbia. Representatives of the Regional Cooperation Council, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, and UNDP Serbia attended the meeting. Expert support was provided by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces.
The Interim Steering Committee meeting was organized as a follow-up to the 3rd Expert Group Meeting on setting up the WPON held in Sofia, Bulgaria on 2-3 December 2009.
The meeting was opened by Mr. Srdjan Paskvali from the Ministry of Interior, Republic of Serbia, and Dr. Ivan Zverzhanovski from UNDP/SEESAC.
On 25 May 2010 the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Montenegro and SEESAC organized an industry outreach workshop on licensing procedures of import and export of arms and military equipment. The focus of the event was on procedures for data gathering of information about the utilization of the export licenses.
The workshop was attended by representatives of the Montenegrin defense industry and of the national institutions responsible for export control. The event was also an opportunity to provide an update on the licensing procedures and to facilitate the dialogue between the industry representatives and government officials. The industry outreach also benefited from the addresses of several guest speakers on best practices in the field of brokering and national arms export control.
On the 12th of May 2010, the Regional Meeting of the Western Balkans Parliamentary Forum on SALW was held in Belgrade, Serbia, hosted by SEESAC and the Parliamentary Forum on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW). The aim of the conference was to emphasize the role of Parliaments in the field of arms export control.
The Forum was opened by Mr. William Infante, UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator in Serbia. Members of Parliament from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia attended the meeting.
The Western Balkans Parliamentary Forum on SALW was launched in May 2007 as a platform for parliamentarians from the region to exchange information on their small arms related work, contribute to the advancement of the small arms agenda, and explore opportunities to join forces with other stakeholders and actors, such as Members of the European Parliament and civil society organizations in order to achieve concrete results. SEESAC has been designated as the Secretariat of the regional Forum.
The second meeting of the Regional Information Exchange Process on Arms Export Controls took place on 23 March 2010 in Skopje, FYR of Macedonia, with the participation of delegations from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Montenegro and Serbia.
The Southeast Europe Women Police Officers Network (SEE WPON) held its launch meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria on 2-3 December 2009. The meeting, the third in a series, was organized by the Southeast Police Chiefs Association (SEPCA) and supported by UNDP/SEESAC, the OSCE Mission in Serbia and the ODIHR. The meeting was attended by representatives of police services from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Romania and Serbia. Representatives of the International Association of Women Police (IAWP), the EU Police Mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina (EUPM), the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and UNDP also took part in the meeting.
On Saturday 21 November 2009 at the "Centar za reciklazu" in Zeleznik, Belgrade, the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia and SEESAC implemented a joint project for the destruction of 10,000 surplus and collected weapons. The destruction event was attended by H.E. Mr Haakon Blankenborg, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway, Mr. Efrem Radev, Senior Expert at the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), diplomatic and defence representatives as well as representatives of the Ministry of Interior.
This destruction is a continuation of the successful cooperation between the Ministry of Interior and SEESAC which has already resulted in the disposal of 17,000 weapons on 3 October 2009. Both destructions in 2009 have been made possible through the generous support of Norway.
The industry outreach workshop on licensing procedures of import and export of arms, military equipment and dual-use goods was held on 15th October 2009, in the "Sava Center" in Belgrade. The workshop was hosted by the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development (MERD) of the Republic of Serbia. The event was part of the SEESAC's assistance programme to MERD.The workshop was attended by more than 150 representatives of the Serbian industry. Representatives of the national institutions responsible for export control oversight provided an updated of the international and national legal framework.
The launch of the Western Balkans Parliamentary Forum took place in Belgrade on 22 May 2007. Taking part at the launch were Members of Parliaments from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the FYR of Macedonia and Montenegro.
The event was opened by Mr. Michael Derus, Deputy to the German Ambassador on behalf of the EU Presidency to Serbia and Mr. Lance Clark, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Serbia. The event generated considerable media attention.
The first weapons destruction initiative in the Republic of Montenegro under the auspices of the Stability Pact Implementation Plan for Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) took place on 27 May 2003 at an industrial complex in Niksic. The destruction of 5,000 weapons has been organised by the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Montenegro, with financial assistance and verification functions undertaken by the South Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC) in conjunction with UNDP.
The destruction is a follow-up to a successful amnesty initiative from 12 March to 12 May 2003. This amnesty campaign, initiated by the Ministry of Interior, and supported by USAID-ORT and the non-governmental network Akcija, resulted in the collection of over 1,600 guns, and more than 30,000 hand grenades, mines and other types of ammunition.
The event at the Niksic smelter was attended by the Minister of Interior in the Government of Montenegro, H.E. Milan Filipovic, and representatives of the international community. The opening ceremony was followed by a press conference, held by Minister Milan Filipovic, Head of the UNDP Liaison Office Mr. Garret Tankosic-Kelly and SEESAC Deputy Team Leader Mr. Craig Rutherford.
According to the Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) Survey conducted during 2006 in Moldova by London based NGO Saferworld and the Cisinau based Institute for Public Policy, there were approximately 19,000 illegally held weapons on the territory controlled by the Moldovan Government.
Over the past years the Ministry of Interior (MoI) of the Republic of Moldova have recovered 1,677 illicit weapons to be destroyed in this destruction cycle. This was the second consecutive SALW destruction project conducted by SEESAC in conjunction with the Moldovan authorities.
In July 2005, 1,657 weapons and 1810 weapon components were destroyed.
