Good practices developed in the Western Balkans highlighted in the UN Secretary General’s report on illicit trade in small arms and light weapons

14 April 2020

The UN Secretary-General report provides an overview of good practices, lessons learned and recommendations on preventing and combating the diversion and illicit international transfer of small arms and light weapons to unauthorized recipients, as well as challenges related to their diversion at the national, regional and international levels.  

The report enumerates regional and sub regional mechanisms and cooperation, which are essential to tackling the cross-border nature of the illicit arms trade and can serve as vehicles for confidence-building.

While reviewing good practices on gender and SALW, the report highlights disaggregated data and gender analysis, as a must in the design of all policies and programmes addressing the diversion of small arms and light weapons. It also, emphasizes the need for full and effective participation of women in all decision-making and operational processes to ensure that all views are considered. Good practices have been developed and under implementation in the Western Balkans with EU support through the implementation of several Council Decisions.

The Western Balkans SALW Control Roadmap, its key commitments and the unique monitoring and coordination framework are also featured in the report.  The Roadmap is recommended as one of the models for possible implementation in other regions, considering regional dynamics and national priorities.