Funding Mechanisms

Prevention and Illicit Arms Reduction in Bosnia and Herzegovina (project PILLAR)

Implementing period: January 2021 – April 2024

Budget: US$769,406

Project PILLAR sought to implement a comprehensive response to raise awareness amongst the population regarding the dangers of illegal possession of firearms and to educate how to recognize individual and collective threats to security. Furthermore, the project aimed to contribute to behavioural change and comprehensive understanding of the threats posed by SALW within families, community and society in general. These were to be achieved by building capacities within the formal associations of women police officers in BiH as “agents of change” to achieve better understanding within the general population of the SALW threats, and by raising public awareness through structured countrywide campaigns, outreach activities and advocacy addressing the devastating impact and threats posed by illicit SALW to general public, especially groups at risk (women, children, young men).

The PILLAR Project and proposed project activities had been fully aligned and contributed to the achievement of goals of the SALW Control Strategy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and of the Regional Roadmap for SALW Control in the Western Balkans. The project built on the complementary interventions within the UNDP’s SALW Control Roadmap projects, and it was closely coordinated with relevant law enforcement agencies and the SALW Coordination Board of BiH (SALW CB BiH). 

Overall achievements:

  • Strengthened understanding of the BiH law enforcement agencies’ capacities and needs to address SALW-related threats and risks among the general population.
    • In 2021, the project commissioned an analysis of available resources and needs assessment among the institutions to engage in gender and age-sensitive awareness raising activities, and existing data relevant for effective outreach and awareness-raising. In addition to being based on the relevant policy and institutional framework, the analysis was based on interviews with key stakeholders, including the Chair of the SALW CB BiH and designated focal points from the law enforcement agencies involved in the project. The interview findings were analyzed, leading to the identification of key messages, target groups, and conceptualization of awareness-raising materials that represented the basis for the next stage of community outreach within the project.
       
  • Enhanced capacities of two associations of women police officers in BiH, aimed at their more active engagement in the SALW control matters in the jurisdiction. 
    • In 2021, the project conducted a needs assessment of the two formal associations of women police officers in BiH. Based on this, it conceptualized capacity development sessions as a prerequisite for their more active engagement, and developed training materials for the specialized training sessions on strategic planning and project writing for the members of the two associations. The roll out plan was agreed with the associations whereby the training was structured into two modules. The first module was followed by an online mentoring phase, during which the engaged consultant worked with 4-5 participant groups on project planning and development. The second module was a classroom training session for the final review of the participants’ work on developing project proposals. The participants were divided into three groups as follows: i) two groups consisting of 30 participants (women) from the Association of Women Police Officers of BiH, including representatives from 10 Cantonal Ministries of Interior (MoI), Police of Brčko District BiH, Federal Police Directorate, State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), Border Police BiH, and the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as 3 participants from the Ministry of Security (2 women and 1 man); ii) one group consisting of 23 participants (women) from the Association of Women Police Officers of the Ministry of Interior of Republika Srpska. The six-session training program was conducted in the period October – December 2021.
    • Overall, 53 members (women) from the two associations of women police officers and three from the Ministry of Security (1 man and 2 women) enhanced capacities in project writing and strategic planning and in taking a more active engagement in the security and SALW-control related field in BiH. 10 mini-project proposals were developed by the two associations as a result, to be pursued separately. Two of these projects were subsequently approved for funding within the complementary MPTF-funded project implemented in BiH[1], one per each of the associations, thus ensuring application of the acquired knowledge in the SALW-control context in BiH.
    • In general, while primarily benefitting the two associations, the developed capacities serve respective law enforcement agencies as well. In addition, activity contributed to raising awareness within law enforcement agencies themselves about the threats posed by irresponsible ownership and illegal SALW to women, young men, and families in general.
       
  • Raised awareness on the threats and risks posed by illicit SALW among citizens, specialized law enforcement agencies, communities and groups at risk (women, children, young men). 
    • Based on the completed in-depth analysis and needs assessment in 2021, the project rolled out the awareness raising activities in close co-ordination and in partnership with the SALW CB BiH and 12 law enforcement agencies in BiH. The efforts were structured in a twofold direction: i) focused awareness raising and ii) general awareness-raising campaign. Mindful of the political climate and sensitivities within the jurisdiction, the priority was given to the focused campaigns, while the general campaign followed subsequently.
    • Two focused awareness raising campaigns were conducted:
      • “Celebrate responsibly, celebrate without firearms”, addressing celebratory shootings around New Year holiday season, implemented in December 2021 and December 2022.
        • In the two years of implementation, the campaign encompassed 176 outreach events (34 in 2021 and 142 in 2022) across the country. The campaign was carried out by approx. 150 police officers throughout the jurisdictions, with a significant number of women police officers (estimated at 30%) taking part in outreach events. The campaign reached approx. 650,000 people and it was promoted over 80 times in different media outlets (both local and country-wide), online, at the radio, and on TV.
      • “Firearms do not protect, firearms kill!”, addressing younger population, primarily students of the final two grades of high schools, on negative impact of illegal SALW, potential consequences of possession and usage of illegal SALW and overall threats posed by SALW.
        • The outreach was carried out in cooperation with 12 law enforcement agencies in BiH during 2022 and 2023, encompassing over 250 schools and reaching approximately 29,500 students (18,200 in 2022 and 11,309 in 2023).

Overall, the focused awareness raising campaigns reached approx. 679,000 people.

  • A general awareness-raising campaign followed at the end, implemented in the period 2023-2024, with a slogan “Respect Life, Not Weapons”. This constituted a major work strand within the project, and its design and roll out were carefully coordinated and implemented in partnership with the law enforcement agencies across BiH. UNDP contracted a specialized marketing agency and a supervisory consultant for the campaign implementation. The campaign was implemented in three waves, as follows:
  • 1st wave in the period 25 September 2023 – 15 October 2023 focusing on femicide.
    • In cooperation with SALW CB BiH and all relevant police agencies in the country, the project launched media campaign addressing an increasing number of violence and incidents against women involving the use of firearms. The project used mixed media approach comprised of: TV, radio, social media, digital media and out-of-home platforms.
  • 2nd wave in the period 30 October 2023 – 05 December 2023 focusing on responsible SALW ownership.
    • Apart from the presence in all forms of media, the project supported relevant police agencies to conduct 11 outreach events in selected BiH cities from 13 November to 06 December 2024. The second wave also targeted younger population through partnerships with influential individuals/artists – one musician and one actor. 
  • 3rd wave in the period 31 January 2024 – 15 March 2024 focusing on voluntary surrender of illicit SALW.
    • Continuing the presence across all forms of media to ensure adequate reach to the targeted population, the project also supported the police agencies to conduct 13 outreach events in selected cities/communities.
    • It is important to note that following the third wave of the general awareness-raising campaign, police agencies reported voluntary surrender of 204 long barrels, 180 short barrels, 19,384 pieces of ammunition and 216 explosive ordnances.  
  • Prior to the official launching of the campaign, three focus groups meetings were held with law enforcement agencies in Sarajevo, Mostar and Banja Luka with an aim to analyse the perception of the citizens regarding the ownership and the use of firearms. The findings from these focus groups served as a basis for creation of public campaign slogans that were endorsed by police agencies. Likewise, three “exit” focus group meetings were held at the end of all the campaigns, in Sarajevo, Mostar and Banja Luka, with the aim to analyze the outcome of the campaign and change in perception of the citizens regarding the ownership and the use of firearms. The results and findings from the focus groups were presented at the final coordination meeting with the management of 12 police agencies on 25 April 2024. Some of the key findings and recommendations encompass the need for continued efforts to raise awareness about SALW in BiH, ensuring that as many citizens as possible are informed about the importance of safely storing legal weapons and surrendering illicit ones; the importance of appropriate messages for target audience, inclusive of additional efforts to understand how the target audience perceives these messages; the positive effect of creative and engaging content and discussions about the responsibility of the state, institutions, and individuals in preventing violence and ensuring safe handling of weapons; importance of educational programs to raise public awareness, and taking measures to increase citizens’ safety, including the control and monitoring of weapon possession; added value of continuously evaluating the effectiveness of the campaign through data analysis, audience feedback, and monitoring key success indicators.
  • Overall, the general awareness raising campaign reached an estimated 89,01% of the population in the country, translating to over 2.6 million individuals of target group of 18 years of age and older.
     

The project contributed to Roadmap Goals 4, 5 and 6, and key performance indicators 10 and 14 of the Roadmap for a sustainable solution to the illegal possession, misuse and trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons and their ammunition in the Western Balkans.

 

[1] Project: Digitalization and Institutional and Regional Cooperation Project (DIRC), in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2022BIH12)