Women organizations at the Forefront: Strengthening Women's Role in SALW Control and GBV Prevention in the Western Balkans

Recognizing the pivotal role of women's organizations in advocating for sustaining peace, disarmament, and combating  gender-based and domestic violence, SEESAC gathered  representatives of 18 women's organizations from the Western Balkans at a workshop on Gender and SALW, held in Tirana on 1-2 July 2025.

The workshop provided an extensive introduction to small arms and light weapons (SALW) control, familiarizing participants with key concepts, instruments, and insights into current trends, policy developments and institutional mechanisms in the region. Participants were introduced to relevant UN and EU normative and policy frameworks, with a particular focus on the implementation and monitoring of the Western Balkans SALW Control Roadmap.

Discussions also explored the role of SALW control in the prevention of armed violence and the growing convergence between gender equality and SALW control frameworks. Further, the workshop addressed the role of firearms in domestic violence and the connection between gender, specific notions of masculinity and the demand for or misuse of firearms.

Over two days, representatives of women's organizations in the region engaged in a discussion on how to further advance the gender responsiveness of SALW control and boost women's participation. The workshop contributed to broadening the involvement of women's organizations in SALW control policymaking and facilitated knowledge exchange.

The event was opened with welcome remarks from Mr. Besfort Lamallari, Deputy Minister of the Interior and Head of the SALW Commission in Albania, Ms. Sofia Evangelou, representative of the Delegation of the European Union to Albania and Ms. Randi Davis, UNDP Albania Resident Representative.

The workshop concluded with a reaffirmed shared commitment to further bolstering the role of women's civil society organizations in SALW control and addressing gender-based violence in the Western Balkans.

The regional workshop was organized under the regional project 'Support for Enhancing the Fight Against the Illegal Possession, Misuse, and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the Western Balkans' funded by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations, through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II). Through this project, SEESAC is providing support to authorities in the Western Balkans to mainstream the gender perspective in the SALW control measures and, in particular, to prevent and combat the misuse of firearms in domestic violence.