UN Secretary General Report Recognizes SEESAC’s Work in Combating Illicit Trade in SALW

The recently published Report of the Secretary General on the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons recognized SEESAC’s work with regards to the destruction of confiscated and surplus weapons as well as the upgrade of the storage facilities. The report provides an overview of the activities undertaken by Member States, the United Nations system and other intergovernmental organizations. These activities include the implementation of General Assembly resolutions 67/41 and 67/58 that cover (1) the assistance provided to States for curbing and collecting the illicit traffic in small arms and light weapons and (2) the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects.

In the reporting period that started in August 2012 and ended in July 2013, SEESAC was actively involved in assisting governments of Serbia and Croatia in the disposal of 17,000 and 16,329 weapons, respectively. In addition, with the assistance of BiH Ministry of Defense and UNDP BiH, SEESAC improved safety and security of four ammunition storages in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These SEESAC activities were directly supported by the European Union through the EU COUNCIL DECISION 2010/179/CFSP.

SEESAC continues to support and act as the secretariat for the Regional Information Exchange Process (RIEP) with regards to the existing national policies on exports control. SEESAC’s Arms Export Control activities are generously supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway.