Serbia: SALW Destruction Activities
 |
The objective of the SEESAC SALW Destruction projects is to increase security and diminish the risk of proliferation by significantly reducing the number of surplus weapons in storages.
The activities in Serbia were initiated in 2009 when the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia approached SEESAC with an official request for assistance with the destruction of surplus weapons. Following a thorough discussion regarding the most suitable method and location for the destruction, joint project between SEESAC and the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia commenced and gave way to a total of over 55,000 destroyed SALW and ammunition in the course of two years.
First destruction took place on 3 October 2009 on the premises of the Recycling Center in Belgrade suburb of Zeleznik. The 17,000 weapons destroyed included machine guns, submachine guns, grenade launchers, carabines, hunting rifles, pistols and air rifles.
On 21 November 2009, SEESAC provided further assistance for the destruction of another 10,000 SALW. In sum, the MoI Serbia destroyed 27,000 small arms in 2009.
In continued collaboration, during the months of October and December of 2010, the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia destroyed additional 28,285 surplus and confiscated weapons. The destruction again took place at the Recycling Center "Centar za reciklazu" in Zeleznik.
In 2011 MoI Serbia has been reviewing their stockpiles outside of the Belgrade area and allocating surplus and confiscated weapons for destruction.
The weapons destruction activities in Serbia are funded by the European Union (EU) under the EU COUNCIL DECISION 2010/179/CFSP, dated 11 March 2010, expressing full support of SEESAC arms control activities in the Western Balkans within the framework of the EU Strategy to combat the illicit accumulation and trafficking of SALW and their ammunition.
Video - SALW Destruction in Serbia on 03 October 2009
