A two-day training focusing on strengthening the capacities of women police officers to more effectively advocate for inclusion of gender perspectives in the policies and work of their respective police services began in Zlatibor, Serbia on 8 May 2012. This second in a series of workshops for members of the Women Police Officers Network in South East Europe (WPON) aims to further improve their advocacy skills including how to best identify an issue, map stakeholders, form coalitions, develop and deliver a message.   ... read more

Following the established practice of providing support to national authorities in their work towards strengthening arms control, SEESAC drafted an unofficial analysis of the changes made to The Common Military List of the European Union. The new Common Military List of the European Union 2012 (2012/C 85/01) was published by the Official Journal of the European Union in March of 2012, after being adopted by the EU Council. It updates and replaces The Common Military List of the European Union adopted by the Council on 21 February 2011.  ... read more

On 27 April, UNDP/SEESAC hosted a coordination meeting on gender and security sector reform projects in Serbia. This informal gathering of international stakeholders supporting national efforts in this important sphere was initiated by the OSCE Mission to Serbia in early 2012. The aim is to facilitate a regular exchange of information on ongoing and future activities and to coordinate efforts in the field. The first meeting was held in February 2012 and was attended by the OSCE Mission, UN Women and UNDP/SEESAC.  ... read more

Ms. Sanja Sumonja, Chair of the Women Police Officers Network in South East Europe (WPON), presented the network’s results and activities to the Police Directors at the South East Europe Police Chiefs Association (SEPCA) General Assembly meeting, which was held on 25 and 26 of April 2012 in Becici, Montenegro. WPON is a UNDP/SEESAC project, implemented in close cooperation with SEPCA.  ... read more

The Regional Approach to Stockpile Reduction (RASR) initiative for South East Europe held its 5^th Workshop in Durres, Albania on 23-25 April with the support of the Albanian Ministry of Defence. The RASR initiative is a regional initiative which aims to coordinate and support countries of South East Europe and regional organisations in their efforts to reduce unstable and excess stockpiles of conventional weapons and munitions.  ... read more

On 20 April, the Croatian Ministry of Interior destroyed additional 60 crates containing 1,720 pieces of small arms and light weapons. The eighteenth such activity brings the total number of destroyed weapons up to 27,434 since the end of 2010. The crates contained pistols, revolvers, automatic rifles, hunting rifles and hand grenades among others.    ... read more

In preparation of the UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) Negotiations scheduled for July 2012, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), the European Union and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia organized a ‘Regional Seminar for Countries in the Wider Europe’. The Seminar, which was designed to support the ATT negotiations through regional discussion and expertise sharing, took place on April 18-20, 2012 in Belgrade, Serbia.   ... read more

The South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Defence Ministerial meeting, chaired by the Republic of Serbia, took place in Belgrade on 12 April 2012. The theme of the meeting was regional cooperation on the problem of arms surpluses. The SEECP was initiated in 1996 with a view to transforming South-Eastern Europe into a region of stability, safety and cooperation. It brings together 12 countries from the region. William Infante, UNDP Resident Representative in Serbia, addressed the high officials present on behalf of UNDP/SEESAC.  ... read more

On 11-12 April 2012, UNDP/SEESAC will take part in the regional conference “Enhancing the Mutual Cooperation in the Region for Resolving the Surplus Arms Issue” organized by the South-East Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP) in Belgrade, Serbia. The SEECP process was initiated in 1996 with the aim to promote increased peace, security, stability and cooperation in the region and currently consists of 12 member states. The focus of the conference, hosted by the Serbian Ministry of Defense as this year’s chair of SEECP, will be the issue of excess ammunition and storage safety of unsafe materials in the South Eastern Europe region.  ... read more

On 30 March, the Croatian Ministry of Interior destroyed additional 80 crates containing 2,316 pieces of small arms and light weapons. The seventeenth such activity brings the total number of destroyed weapons up to 25,714 since the end of 2010.  ... read more