12th Meeting of SALW Commissions in South East and East Europe

The 12th Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) Commissions Meeting was organized in Tirana on 22 November 2019.

The SALW Commissions meetings gather arms control policy-makers from South East and East Europe to exchange common challenges and identify solutions to address the illicit possession, trafficking and misuse of firearms. Over 40 representatives from Belgrade, Chisinau, Kiev, Minsk, Podgorica, Pristina, Sarajevo, Skopje, and Tirana came together to discuss SALW control policies and activities in the region and beyond. The meeting was opened by Ms. Rovena Voda, Assistant Minister at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Albania, Mr. Fabio Marini, Head of Firearms Taskforce, DG Home Affairs, European Union and by Ms. Jorida Shytaj, Political Advisor of the Regional Cooperation Council.

During the meeting, the arms control legal framework, regional standardization and harmonization, as well as the establishing and implementing the legal framework on the control of marketing, use and possession of explosive precursors were discussed. The meeting enabled sharing of experience and discussion on implementation of SALW Control activities in the region. The key findings and recommendations from the Regional Small Arms and Light Weapons Survey were presented by SEESAC at the meeting.

A flagship of this SALW Commissions meeting was the completion of the Gender Coach Programme by Ms. Rovena Voda, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Albania.

The SALW Commissions Meetings are made possible through the European Union Council Decision 2016/2356/CFSP in support of arms control activities in the Western Balkans in the framework of the EU Strategy to combat the illicit accumulation and trafficking of SALW and their ammunition.

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