2,802 Pieces of SALW Destroyed in Kosovo1

On 2 December, 2014, Kosovo1 institutions, with the support of the EU through UNDP’s SEESAC initiative, destroyed 2,802 weapons and 903 weapon parts. The destructions works towards reducing the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons (SALW) in South East Europe, which continues to affect the security and safety of the civilian population.

SEESAC’s EUSAC project facilitates destructions like these throughout the region, with the generous support of the European Union, established through the EU Council Decision 2013/730/CFSP in Support of SEESAC Disarmament and Arms Control Activities in South East Europe, dated 9 December 2013 and within the framework of the EU Strategy to Combat the Illicit Accumulation and Trafficking of SALW and their ammunition.

SEESAC’s partners in carrying out this destruction were: Kosovo Police, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, and UNDP Kosovo’s Firearms and Explosives Risk Minimization (FERM) programme.

The destruction was the second in Kosovo this year, and it brought the total number of firearms destroyed in Kosovo in 2014 to over 3,500.

Mr. Mensur Hoti, Director of the Department for Public Safety, offered introductory remarks to the event, reiterating his institution’s continued commitment to increasing the security for the civilian population and working for a safer environment. Mr. Hoti also offered his gratitude to the EU, UNDP, and SEESAC; noting that the destruction would not have taken place without these institutions, as well as Kosovo Police and the Kosovo Prosecutor’s Office.

Most of the weapons destroyed have been used in criminal activities and have been seized and collected by Kosovo Police. While the spread of illicit SALW continues, destruction events like that of 2 December ensure that those weapons no longer have the potential to kill or hurt anyone – as pointed out at the event by UNDP Kosovo Governance Advisor Mr. Richard Lundgren.

Naim Rexha, Deputy Director of Kosovo Police, similarly expressed his gratitude to UNDP, EU, and SEESAC; while also noting the importance of continued training for police in the marking, registration, collection, and destruction of SALW. Finally, Mr. Rexha offered that confiscations of SALW will help eliminate the sources from which these weapons are proliferated – many of which flourished during wartime.

For more on how the EU Support of SEESAC Disarmament and Arms Control Activities in South East Europe (EUSAC) project strengthens safety and security through Regional Cooperation in South East Europe, see the project page.

 

ABOUT EUSAC

EUSAC builds directly upon SEESAC’s decade-long SALW Control work, particularly achievements made through the previous EU-funded SALW Control project, conducted during the 2010-2012 period under the Council Decision 2010/179/CFSP. The new project, which was designed in close cooperation with national authorities, will work on the following five interrelated streams of activities:

  • Increased security of stockpiles: through the renovation and security improvements to storages of arms and ammunition.
  • Stockpile reduction: through the destruction of surplus arms and ammunition held in storages.
  • Improved marking, tracing and registration of SALW: through the provision of support to the establishment or enhancement of existing weapons registration and record-keeping systems.
  • Improved regional cooperation on awareness raising, information sharing and knowledge transfer: through the facilitation of regional cooperation between national institutions tasked with arms control.
  • Implementation of collection and awareness raising campaigns.

 

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