At the Regional Steering Group meeting in April 2009 the countries from South Eastern Europe have requested SEESAC, as part of the process for increased regional ownership, to provide them with an opportunity to review their progress in the field of armed violence prevention (AVP) and identify possibilities for future projects. SEESAC organized in cooperation with RACVIAC a Regional Armed Violence Prevention seminar in Zagreb, Croatia on 23-24 September 2009.  ... read more

Since 2006 SEESAC has been providing assistance to the Governments in the Western Balkans for development and publication of their annual reports on arms exports. The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina has continued a tradition from 2006 on providing information not only about the arms exports but also revealing data on the imports of military goods. The 2007 national report can be downloaded here.  ... read more

The Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) between Montenegro and the European Union was signed on 15 October 2007. Montenegro has made commitments under the SAA to approximate their legislation to that of the EU and especially to ensure its proper implementation. One of the areas for approximation is the control over acquisition and possession of weapons regulated by Council Directive 91/477/EEC amended by Directive 2008/51/EC. Although certain provisions of the current Montenegrin Law on Weapons include requirements that are stricter and exceed the minimum standard set by the EU legislation, the Law on Weapons does not conform among others to the systematisation and categorisation of firearms specified in the Directives.     ... read more

On 03 October 2009 the Ministry of Interior (MoI) of the Republic of Serbia will destroy 17,000 surplus and confiscated weapons. The destruction activity is part of SEESAC's assistance  programme to MoI Serbia in the area of SALW control.   ... read more

The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of the Republic of Moldova has confirmed that the destruction of confiscated and surplus weapons will take place on 06 October 2009. SEESAC and MIA have worked on this project for the past six months. More than 2,600 weapons will be destroyed through melting in the factory  “Uzina Turnatorie Aralit” in Chisinau, Moldova. Mihail Beregoi, SEESAC's SALW Liaison Officer in Moldova is coordinating the implementation of the project. He could be reached for further information at mihail.beregoi@undp.org  ... read more

According to Serbian media seven people died and fourteen were injured when an explosion took place in the munitions factory "Prvi Partizan" in Uzice around 2130 local time on 3 September 2009. The cause of the explosion is still being investigated and there are no early indications of what could have provoked the incident. It is believed that the explosion took place in the department for gunpowder filling which is located inside underground tunnels on the outskirts of the town. The resulting fire was quickly put out by the prompt intervention of the local fire brigade which intervened, together with emergency medical and rescue teams within minutes of the incident.  ... read more

Following up on a request by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of the Republic of Moldova for increased coordination between SEESAC and MIA during the implementation of SALW projects in Moldova, SEESAC has recruited in August 2009 Mr. Mihail Beregoi  as a SALW Liaison Officer in Moldova.  ... read more

In order to provide all small arms and light weapons stakeholders in South Eastern and Eastern Europe with an overview of regional current events, and as part of encouraging information exchange on SALW issues, SEESAC has developed its own SEESAC Regional SALW Media Monitoring Service and Database, distributed daily to a number of SALW regional and international stakeholders.  ... read more

Mr Zoran Pazin, Researcher on SALW Legislation, has finalised a comparative study on the existing legislation on arms control in Montenegro. Montenegro has adhered to the UN Firearms Protocol in Dec 2006. Montenegro has also expressed commitment to approximate the national legislation with that of the EU. In June 2008 Montenegro has passed amendments to the Law on Weapons that do not take into consideration Directive 91/477/EEC on the control of weapons acquisition and possession.  The adherence to the UN Firearms Protocol as well as the requirement for approximation of the national legislation necessitated an analyses of the current Montenegrin Law on Weapons with the provisions of the amended Directive 91/477/EEC and the UN Firearms Protocol. The analysis will be used as a baseline for formulation of projects for technical assistance to the Montenegrin Ministry of Interior.  ... read more

On 22-23 July 2009 the Southeast Police Chiefs Association (SEPCA), OSCE ODIHR and OSCE Serbia have organized in Belgrade, Serbia, a meeting of experts to discuss procedures, guidelines and focal points for the establishment of a regional women police officers network (WPON).   ... read more