Over 35 representatives of the Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) Commissions, from the Western Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine, and representatives of expert organisations engaged in arms control gathered for the 15th Regional Meeting of SALW Commissions. The meeting took place in a hybrid setup in Skopje and online on 7 July 2022.
By welcoming the participants and pointing out the importance of regional cooperation and coordination in fighting the illicit possession, trafficking and misuse of firearms, Mr. Arif Asani, Deputy Director of the Bureau for Public Security and President of SALW Commission from Skopje, and Mr. Amer Kapetanović, Head of Political Department of the Regional Cooperation Council, opened the meeting.
The meeting enabled sharing of good practices and experiences, informing on new global initiatives on arms and ammunition control, provided updates on new threats related to firearms and ammunition control, as well as underlined the importance of keeping the authorities up to date with the latest global developments and policies on arms control.
In particular, the participants from Belgrade, Chisinau, Kiev, Podgorica, Pristina, Sarajevo, Skopje, and Tirana were presented with the work and objectives of the newly established Open-ended Working Group on Conventional Ammunition. Furthermore, they discussed topics of the conventional ammunition management, preventing post-delivery diversion of weapons and ammunition, as well as the use of evidence-based policies related to arms control to ensure these are gender mainstreamed and effectively addressing the firearms related threats.
MEETING MATERIALS
- Agenda
- List of participants
- Minutes
PRESENTATIONS
Session I – Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) on Conventional Ammunition
- Open-ended Working Group on Conventional Ammunition – Presentation by Mr. Albrecht von Wittke, Director of Division, Conventional Arms Control, German Federal Foreign Office
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Contribution and role of regional organizations in conventional ammunition management – Presentation by Mr. Alain Lapon, Chief Technical Adviser, SEESAC
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International cooperation and assistance in through-life ammunition management (Presentation not available)– Briefing by Mr. Slobodan Bosković, Project Officer, FSC Support, OSCE
Session II – Arms Exports Control - Addressing risks and threats of diversion of conventional weapons and ammunition
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Risks of post-export diversion of conventional weapons and ammunition – Presentation by Mr. Himayu Shiotani, Head of International Policy, Conflict Armament Research
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Presentation of practices related to risk-assessments and industry outreach in preventing diversion of weapons and ammunition by Belgrade and Sarajevo (Presentation available by Sarajevo)
Session III – Key developments on arms control
- Updates from the authorities of the Republic of Moldova (Presentation not available) and Ukraine
- Overview on possible threats and risks to the region by the ongoing war in Ukraine – Presentation by Mr. Alain Lapon, Chief Technical Adviser, SEESAC
Session IV – Evidence based policies – Data collection and research
- Forthcoming research - Intervention by Dragan Bozanic, Gender and Research Project Officer, SEESAC
- Women managing weapons – Perspectives for increasing women’s meaningful participation in weapons and ammunition management – Presentation by Ms. Hana Salama, Researcher, Gender and Disarmament, UNIDIR
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Armed Violence trends in Southeast Europe in 2021 – Presentation by Ms. Violeta Gaši, Programme Associate, SEESAC
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Security Barometer Survey (SecuriMeter) 2022 - Perceptions of security and threats in the Western Balkans with focus on firearms - Presentation of the key findings by Ms. Jorida Shytaj, Senior Political Advisor, Regional Cooperation Council
Session V - Programme of Action on small arms and its International Tracing Instrument
- 8th Biennial Meeting of State Parties to the UN Programme of Action – key conclusions and recommendations - Presentation by Ms. Nora Allgaier, Political Affairs Officer, Conventional Arms Branch, UN Office for Disarmament Affairs
PHOTOS
