SEESAC shares expertise with INTERPOL members

SEESAC presented its holistic, regional approach to small arms and light weapons (SALW) control to INTERPOL members at the 4th INTERPOL Firearm Forensics Symposium, held from 17th – 19th October in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

To combat the misuse and illicit trafficking of SALW, knowledge exchange is crucial. By sharing expertise, different countries and organizations can learn from each other’s experiences, enabling better informed, more effective SALW control policies to be implemented.

The INTERPOL Firearm Forensics Symposium gathers ballistic experts, forensic scientists, law enforcement professionals, public safety administrators and policy makers from INTERPOL member countries to discuss the most pressing issues in firearms-related forensics and intelligence ranging from 3D printed firearms to counter-terrorism strategies.

SEESAC’s SALW coordinator Slobodan Boskovic presented at the Symposium SEESAC’s work, emphasizing that “a multipronged approach is needed to address the numerous sources of weapons that emerge in conflict and post-conflict environments”. Slobodan used SEESAC’s work to exemplify the advantages of this approach. For the last 15 years, from the Western Balkans to the Republic of Moldova, SEESAC has been working with governments across the region on multiple layers of SALW control, from storage facility upgrades and stockpile management to public awareness-raising campaigns. Drawing on SEESAC’s experience of the enforcement of firearms legislation in South East Europe, Slobodan also contributed to a panel on the challenges of having consistent legislation.

SEESAC is committed to the sharing of knowledge on SALW in South East Europe through regional meetings of national SALW commissions, and the South East Europe Firearms Expert Network (SEEFEN).