Upgraded Arms Export Licensing Software for Serbian Authorities

Upon the request of the Ministry for Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications of the Republic of Serbia – the leading government authority for arms exports licensing in Serbia - UNDP’s SEESAC initiative has finalized the installation of the new Annual Arms Export Report Generator (AAERG) software for export and import license record-keeping. The AAERG software keeps records of issued export and import licenses and as such, provides practitioners with a comprehensive tool for conducting analyses and generating reports.

Responding to the request of authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia, SEESAC first developed this arms export control software in 2009. Since then, the Ministry of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications in Serbia – responsible for issuing import and export licenses – has asked SEESAC to provide technical assistance in improving and developing the software in order for them to be able to better fulfill reporting requirements and thus increase efficiency and transparency.

This new iteration has been custom-made for the Serbian context, fully incorporating the technical specifications as outlined by the Ministry of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications, as well as aligning it with the legislative and institutional framework of the Republic of Serbia.

As the largest exporter of firearms in the region, Serbian authorities deal with a significant volume of work and data to be processed monthly and yearly; work which will be facilitated by using this software.

These exports are outlined in the recently published Serbian 2012 Annual Report on the Transfers of Controlled Goods.

As part of SEESAC’s Arms Exports Control Programme in the Western Balkans, these activities are generously supported by the Kingdom of Norway.