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Parliamentarians from the Western Balkans Discuss the Problems of SALW Proliferation

Due to the dominant gun culture, legacy of armed conflict, well developed channels of contraband smuggling as well as security/defence strategies that rely on stockpiling of weapons and ammunition, SALW proliferation persists as a particular concern in the Western Balkans. As a way of addressing this issue, the Parliamentary Forum on SALW, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and SEESAC jointly organized the seminar on the  “Parliaments’ Role in minimizing the threat of small arms and light weapons in the Western Balkans – Past experiences and new challenges”.  The Seminar took place at the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia on the 27th and 28th of March 2014.  

 

Active engagement and support of Parliamentarians is key to successful implementation of policies and programs aiming to tackle the problems related to SALW control.  With this in mind, the seminar gathered members of parliaments from the Western Balkans, as well as some of their colleagues from across the world. The aim was to assist parliamentarians in conducting effective oversight by providing them with a platform to learn more about a range of existing SALW Control problems and measures, and to exchange information and best practices.

 

The seminar was opened by Ms. Irena Vojáčková-Sollorano, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Serbia, who emphasized the significant results achieved in tackling the problems related to SALW both in Serbia and in the Western Balkans.  Mr. Konstantin Samofalov, Member of the Defense and Internal Affairs Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, reminded attendees that since 2002, over 100,000 pieces of SALW are disposed of in Serbia, most of them with the support of SEESAC. Ms. Teresa Dybeck, Programme Officer at the Parliamentary Forum on Small Arms and Light Weapons, highlighted the importance of the information and best practices exchange among members of parliaments and stressed the benefits of the seminar.

 

Five sessions were opened by regional and international SALW Control experts, who introduced specific issues at hand, allowing for a more informed discussion.

 

The topics covered were:

  1. The Parliaments’ role in arms export control oversight;
  2. Improving policies on combating the illicit trafficking of SALW;
  3. Tackling the threats of surplus ammunition in the Western Balkans;
  4. Benefits and best practices of disposal of SALW and their ammunition;
  5. Experiences from SALW Collection Campaigns and how parliamentarians can contribute to their success.

 

SEESAC’s overall expertise and experience in assisting governments in framing policies was widely acknowledged by participants.

 

The seminar attracted considerable media attention.

Below you can see some of the most interesting articles:

  1. Tanjug - Parlamentarci regiona u Beogradu o kontroli lakog naoružanja
  2. B92 - Uništavanje lakog naoružanja
  3. Blic - Parlamentarci: U Srbiji veliki broj ilegalnog oružja

 

About the Western Balkans Parliamentary Forum on SALW

 

The Western Balkans Parliamentary Forum on SALW was launched in May 2007 as a platform for parliamentarians from the region to exchange information on their small arms related work, contribute to the advancement of the small arms agenda, and explore opportunities to join forces with other stakeholders and actors, such as Members of the European Parliament and civil society organizations in order to achieve concrete results.

 

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