SEESAC at the INTERPOL Firearm Forensics Symposium

SEESAC’s presentation “Regional cooperation to counter the threat posed by firearms in South Eastern Europe”, opened the first day of the INTERPOL Firearm Forensics Symposium (IFFS), organized by INTERPOL and Ultra Electronics Forensic Technology on 7-9 October, 2015 in Singapore.

The presentation focused on providing this global bi-annual event with the context of South East Europe (SEE), namely, the challenges it continues to face in the area of non-proliferation, an overview of the achievements reached by the institutions of the region, and the outline of the assistance provided through SEESAC thus far.

To combat the illicit proliferation of SALW, SEESAC has been working to strengthen safety and security through regional cooperation in SEE during the past 13 years. Several regional processes have been facilitated by SEESAC that enable information sharing, networking, knowledge exchange and creation of new solutions in the area of small arms and light weapons control in SEE.

Held at the newly inaugurated INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation, IFFS gathered ballistic experts, forensic scientists, law enforcement professionals, public safety administrators, policy makers and national agency directors from INTERPOL member countries.  This three-day international conference focused on how crime gun intelligence can be leveraged with the aim of preserving peace through justice. The experts reviewed national and international trends in firearm violence, explored advances in firearm forensics analysis and investigations and recommended best international practices to combat the threat of firearm crimes.

SEESAC presented its overall portfolio, with special emphasis on the activities implemented under the EU Support of SEESAC Disarmament and Arms Control Activities in South East Europe (EUSAC) project, initiated through the Council Decision 2013/730/CFSP.