Small Arms and Light Weapons control in different phases of the Conflict Cycle – Lessons Learned and Good Practices from South-Eastern and Eastern Europe
On 2-3 October 2025, SEESAC supported the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation, in the organization of an expert meeting in Vienna titled “Small Arms and Light Weapons control in different phases of the Conflict Cycle – Lessons Learned and Good Practices from South-Eastern and Eastern Europe”. The workshop aimed to explore how lessons learned from South-Eastern and Eastern Europe can inform future responses to emerging risks but also long-standing challenges, such as cross-border trafficking and civilian firearms ownership and misuse in fragile environments, including in the current context of Ukraine.
Small Arms and Light Weapons do not just facilitate combat - they erode the rule of law and destabilize entire regions. As such, ensuring their effective control and identifying ways to predict and prevent the next outbreak of a conflict by tracking these tools of violence becomes critical.
While historical measures have focused on post-conflict disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR), an “all-phases" approach should utilize SALW control as a proactive tool for conflict prevention and early warning, ensuring that the presence of uncontrolled weapons does not dictate the duration or recurrence of violence.
To discuss and address these strategic challenges, the expert meeting brought together relevant international and regional organizations, the OSCE field operations alongside Heads of SALW Commissions, civil society, academic institutions, and technical experts. The participants actively explored pathways on how to move towards proactive security building by assessing SALW control practices across pre-conflict, active conflict, and post-conflict phases.
Designed as a multi-stakeholder platform for reflection, peer exchange, and forward-looking policy dialogue, the meeting provided a platform for SALW control practitioners to reflect on past and present experiences, note evolving patterns, emerging challenges, and assessing existing available responses.
During the two days of the workshop, the multidimensional risks of SALW proliferation across early warning, active conflict, and post-conflict phases were examined, lessons learned regarding diversion and civilian firearm ownership in fragile environments were shared and actionable recommendations to inform future policy development and operational guidance were generated.
In addition to supporting the organization of the meeting, SEESAC provided its expert insights into SALW and the Conflict Cycle: cause and effect as well as sharing the experience from the region on SALW control in the post-conflict – immediate and long-term response.
SEESAC’s support to the organization of this meeting was enabled through the financial support of the European Union, through its Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/2321 in support of SEESAC for the implementation of the Western Balkans Roadmap.