Private security companies (PSC) in Serbia employ between 25,000 and 60,000 people, estimates the government of Serbia (GoS).  A recurrent misuse of power by such companies has prompted the GoS to issue a “Draft Law on Private Security Industry” stipulating rules and regulations for private security sector companies. The Draft has been submitted to the Parliament for consideration. Over the last decade, a number of factors have created a demand for private security provision in South Eastern Europe, ranging from high crime rates, to public corruption, and a legacy of inter-ethnic distrust in former conflict areas. According to the 2005 SEESAC Report on “SALW and Private Security Companies in South Eastern Europe" approximately 3,200 private security companies operate in Serbia  of which only 400 are registered with the Chamber of Commerce as of 2011.

In view of Serbia’s active participation in the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union, and taking into consideration the data indicating that some 47,000 pieces of weapons are in the hands of PSC personnel (see 2005 SEESAC Report on PSCs), the government of Serbia has urged the Parliament for an immediate law enactment.

If passed, the new legislation would include certain provisions recommended by 2005 SEESAC  report on PSCs, such as mandatory license registration for all companies and provision for routine monitoring and oversight of the PSCs by the Ministry of Interior. Given that the Republic of Serbia is the only country in the region where the appropriate legal framework regarding the work of private security companies has not yet been put in place, such legislation would undoubtedly strengthen professional efficiency and control of the security sector in Serbia.

It is also important to note that according to the 2005 SEESAC Survey, there are over a million legally owned and an estimated 944,000 illegally owned weapons in the possession of Serbian citizens.  With this in mind, SEESAC has partnered with the Ministry of Interior of Serbia in an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of weapons and promote registration and voluntary surrender of firearms. Celebrate without Weapons is the most recent such SEESAC activity in Serbia, aiming to alert citizens of the dangers posed by celebratory shooting. Similar SALW Awareness Raising and Collection Campaigns have taken place elsewhere in the region.

The current challenge for the governments of the SEE countries is also the implementation of their legal commitments in the area of marking and tracing weapons. SEESAC has successfully assisted the governments of the Republic of Montenegro and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in implementing an efficient weapon registration system, under the auspices of SEESAC’s Marking, Tracing and Registration of Firearms activities.

SEESAC’s collection work is currently funded by the European Union (EU) as an activity under the EU COUNCIL DECISION 2010/179/CFSP, dated 11 March 2010, expressing support for 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.