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.  ... read more

On 28 December 2011, the Croatian Ministry of Interior destroyed 90 crates containing 2,784 pieces of small arms and light weapons, brining the total number of weapons destroyed in the course of 2011 up to 16,329 pieces. The destruction is a part of a larger project, the aim of which is improvement of safety through collection and elimination of illegal and surplus small arms and light weapons (SALW) in Croatia. The project is implemented jointly by SEESAC, with support of UNDP Croatia, and the Croatian Ministry of Interior. The latest destruction was the twelfth such event since the begining of the effort in December of 2010 and which envisions the elimination of up to 30,000 small arms and light weapons in Croatia.  ... read more

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.  ... read more

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. BAFA is acting as the implementing agent of the EU cooperation programme in export control of dual-use goods mandated by the European Union.  ... read more

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.  ... read more

The Croatian Ministry of Interior destroyed additional 840 and 1,350 pieces of small arms and light weapons on 5 December and 8 December respectively. These destructions bring the total number of weapons destroyed during 2011 up to 13,545. The destruction activities are a part of a larger project, the aim of which is to improve safety through the collection and elimination of illegal and surplus small arms and light weapons (SALW) in Croatia. The project is implemented jointly by SEESAC, with support of UNDP Croatia, and the Croatian Ministry of Interior. The project envisions the total elimination of up to 30,000 small arms and light weapons in Croatia.  ... read more

The Women Police Officers Network (WPON) in South East Europe held its 2nd Annual Meeting 1-3 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.  The meeting was opened by Mr. Veselin Veljovic, the Director of the Police Directorate of Montenegro and President SEPCA; Ms. Lovita Ramgutee, UNDP Montenegro Deputy Resident Representative; Mr. Zlatko Miletic, Executive Director of SEPCA; Ms. Jelena Vasiljevic, outgoing Chair of the WPON Executive Committee; and Ms. Jane Townsley, President of the International Association of Women Police (IAWP).   ... read more

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, and during which UNDP expressed interest in executing a portion of projects dedicated to strengthening capacities of regional police services. On this occasion, Ms. Udovicki and Mr. Veljovic signed a Memorandum of Understanding between UNDP and SEPCA, which provides a framework of cooperation and facilitates collaboration between the two organizations, on a non-exclusive basis, in areas of common interest.  ... read more

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.  ... read more

On 28 November 2011 in Sarajevo, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Germany’s Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA), and SEESAC jointly organized an industry outreach seminar for companies dealing in military and dual-use goods.  ... read more