Voluntary Firearms Surrender Campaign in Serbia Successfully Ends with 108,883 Pieces of Firearms and Explosive Devices Collected

Following two mass shootings that occurred in Serbia in early May, the Minister of Interior issued an order on the surrender of unregistered weapons and ammunition, launching the voluntary firearms surrender campaign on 8 May 2023.

The campaign, initially planned to end on 8 June, was extended to 30 June. As a result, citizens surrendered 82,398 pieces of weapons, 26,485 explosive devices, and 4,243,139 pieces of ammunition.

The Ministry of Interior stated that they are satisfied with the campaign’s results, adding that the campaign was more successful than all previous campaigns carried out on in Serbia.

SEESAC actively supported the campaign and the Ministry in this endeavour through the Support for Enhancing the Fight Against the Illegal Possession, Misuse, and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the Western Balkans project, funded by the European Union through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II).