Law Enforcement Agencies’ Development in Small Arms and Light Weapon’s Control - LEAD (UNDP Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Duration

6 December 2023 – 4 December 2025

Beneficiary/ies

BiH SALW CB, Indirect Taxation Authority, Border Police BiH, State Investigation and Protection Agency, BiH Prosecutor Office and prosecutor offices at entity and cantonal level, relevant police bodies at entity and cantonal level, police academies, associations of women police officials, as well as national NGOs.

Donor/s

Multi-Partner Trust Fund

Funding Amount

USD 1,455,035

Funding gaps (if any)

N/A

Objective/s

The Project LEAD aims to enhance the capacity and engagement of relevant national institutions and civil society in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as strengthen inter-agency and cross-border collaboration to advance the implementation of the National SALW Control Strategy and the SALW Control Roadmap. The project builds upon previous interventions and entails a series of activities that focus on inter-agency operational and strategic cooperation, as well as provision of specialized resources, equipment and knowledge and peer-exchange to prevent and counter FAE-related crime. An inclusive approach to civil society organizations and outreach to communities and stakeholders will be ensured, with duly integrated gender and human rights perspectives. The expected result is a comprehensive strengthening of key stakeholders in the SALW control field, leading to increased ownership and sustainability.

Contributing to the Roadmap goal/s

Contributing to the Roadmap overall targets

Goal 1:

• Ensure standardization of procedures and practices in the area of arms control and FAE investigations.
• Exchange good practices with a specific focus on the areas defined in the Roadmap.

Goal 2:

• Increase national analytical capacities and institutionalize firearms data analysis.
• Institutionalize systematic collection of criminal justice data across the Criminal Justice Sector (at the level of Police and Customs, Prosecutors’ service, Court Service, Correctional and Penitentiary Services).
• Fully integrate gender and age concerns in SALW/firearms control policies and ensure meaningful participation of women in SALW/firearms control

Goal 3:

• Strengthen existing bilateral, regional and international mechanisms and encouraging new forms of good practice to counter trafficking of firearms.
• Substantially strengthen control, monitoring and prevention of diversion of legal trade through improved capacities, procedures and transparency
• Prevent trafficking (smuggling, illicit trade and transit) of FAE through improved processes, equipment and training of targeted law enforcement units.
• Strengthen existing bilateral, regional and international mechanisms and encouraging new forms of good practice to counter trafficking of firearms

Goal 4:

• Develop sustainable partnerships to strengthen advocacy, reinforce outreach and reach messaging multipliers

Goal 5:

• Substantially increased number of seized firearms, ammunition and explosives.

Key activities implemented up to date

• The Project Team obtained consent from 14 police agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the procurement of 26 density meters/contraband detectors, including agreement on technical specifications. Following a lengthy procurement process, a contract was signed with the selected supplier on 30 September 2024. While delivery was not completed by end-December 2024, the supplier committed to meet the contractual delivery deadline of 21 January 2025. Additionally, at the request of the RS Ministry of Interior, the Project Team procured and delivered six gun replicas and one rifle replica for police cadet training.
• The Project Team organized three meetings of ballistics experts in close cooperation with UNDP Serbia. These included visits to ballistic laboratories in Belgrade, Sarajevo, and Banja Luka. The first meeting was held in March 2024 in Serbia, followed by two meetings in October 2024 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A total of 14 experts participated, including 8 from Bosnia and Herzegovina and 6 from Serbia. The meetings facilitated the exchange of experiences, mutual familiarization with laboratory capacities, and strengthened professional links, laying the groundwork for future regional cooperation.
• The Project Team engaged an international consultant to assess the technical capacities and equipment needs of four ballistic laboratories in Bosnia and Herzegovina: two entity-level laboratories in Sarajevo and Banja Luka, the Agency for Forensic and Expert Examinations, and the Brčko District laboratory. In September 2024, the consultant conducted meetings with all four laboratories and delivered an analysis. Based on the findings, a list of equipment with technical specifications was prepared for the two entity-level laboratories. The Project Team obtained consent for procurement from the Federal Police Directorate and the RS Ministry of Interior, with procurement planned for Q1 2025.
• On 3 December 2024, in coordination with UNDP Serbia, the first meeting of 10 arson-explosion-accident (AEA) experts was organized in Sarajevo, including 6 participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina and 4 from Serbia. Experts represented the Serbia MoI, BiH Agency for Forensic and Expert Examination, Federal Police Directorate, and RS MoI. The meeting focused on the organizational structure of these services, exchange of experience through concrete cases, challenges faced in daily work, and insights into results achieved in Serbia with assitance from UNDP Serbia.
• To support digitalization of processes in the Federation of BiH, the Project Team worked with a UNDP BiH IT expert to develop a Terms of Reference (ToR) for a new application to manage weapons in legal possession. Throughout 2024, the Project Team held multiple consultations and technical meetings. A tentative agreement on the ToR was reached with the FBiH IT Support Team in October 2024. To secure official support, the Project Team presented the initiative at a meeting of 10 cantonal police commissioners in November 2024. While there was general support, concerns over cantonal authority led to a request to circulate the draft ToR directly to cantonal police administrations for feedback. The Project Team continued consultations with selected jurisdictions to refine the ToR, and it was agreed that cantons may retain administrative control over their own applications, provided they remain nearly identical and compatible and allow real-time data exchange on legal SALW.
• Four domestic joint exercises have been successfully organized in presence of BiH prosecutor’s office and with participation of 99 customs and police officials from BiH LEAs in addition to 10 instructors from the ITA and different police agencies, increasing their illegal SALW trade investigative skills. In addition, the Project Team organized first international joint exercise with police and customs officials from Montenegro in Međugorje (BiH) gathering 36 police and customs officials with the participation of prosecutors from both jurisdictions.
• Four domestic joint exercises were successfully organized across Bosnia and Herzegovina, involving various police agencies and the Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA). A total of 98 police and customs officials  from 15 different police agencies participated. The exercises aimed to strengthen investigative skills to more effectively combat illicit SALW trade, and were conducted under the supervision and guidance of the BiH Prosecutor’s Office.
• Two cross-border exercises between police, customs, and prosecutors from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro were organized to test procedures for detecting illegal SALW and subsequent procedures at joint border crossings (jurisdiction over smuggling cases, suspect handovers, prosecution procedures) established under an existing international agreement between BiH and Montenegro.  The first exercise took place in BiH in October 2024 with 35 participants, and the second in Montenegro in November 2024 with 40 participants, including a UNDP Montenegro representative. The exercises revealed significant gaps, underscoring the need to clarify agency and prosecutorial roles at joint border crossings and to develop a standard operating procedure (SOP) to serve as guidance for border police and customs officials of both jurisdictions.
• Engaged two police experts with an aim to develop a manual for SALW-related investigations for police cadets at relevant police academies in BiH, based on SOPs for active police officials developed within the previous projects.  Three meetings were organized with experts and a draft version of a manual for SALW-related investigations for police cadets has been developed. The manual will be used by police academies and relevant law enforcement training institutions in BiH as a part of their basic training.
• Two police experts were engaged to develop a draft manual on SALW-related investigations for police cadets, designed for use in police academies and law enforcement training institutions across BiH. Following consultations and revisions, the final draft was completed and reviewed by the Project Team. In December 2024, a working  document was presented to the Director of the FBiH Police Academy, who expressed interest in integrating it into the academy’s curriculum, pending minor technical adjustments. The document was also renamed from “Manual” to “Guidelines” to better reflect its purpose.
• The Project also aimed to support the development of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Border Police and the Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA). Progress was delayed due to the postponed adoption of the BiH Law on Border Control. In late 2024, the law was approved by the BiH Council of Ministers on 17 December, with BiH parliamentary adoption expected in Q1 2025. Once adopted, the Project Team will to begin preparations for establishing a working group, in coordination with the BiH SALW Coordination Board, to revise and adopt the new MoU.
• The Project Team will continue facilitating meetings among key stakeholders, including the SALW Coordination Board, police commissioners, and the FBiH IT Support Team, with tentative plans to support the next Coordination Board meeting in Q1 2025. Additionally, the Project Team supported a meeting between the BiH Prosecutor and ITA, where 10 customs officials acquired additional knowledge on BiH criminal code procedures for vehicle and personal searches related to illegal SALW detection.
• The Project Team organized 5 meetings gathering prosecutors from 5 RS District Prosecutor’s Offices as well as Chief RS Prosecutor and Special RS Prosecutor, 10 cantonal prosecutors and prosecutor from Brčko District BiH.  The aim of the meetings was to identify gaps in SALW-related investigation from the prosecutors’ angle and incorporate these findings into a SALW Investigation Guidebook that will be distributed to all police agencies after consultations with all police agencies have been held and final version of the Guidebook produced.  A total of 29 prosecutors attended these meetings that were facilitated by BiH Prosecutor Office’s representatives, including one prosecutor and two investigators.  Draft of the SALW Investigation Guidebook aimed to guide police on proper actions and collaboration with prosecutors in investigating SALW-related crimes has been produced while the Project Team engaged in reviewing the document and will continue to do so in 2025. Once finalized, the Guidebook will be used to plan meetings with senior police officials from all 12 jurisdictions and potentially SIPA and FPD, who also handle SALW-related crimes.
• Following the December 2023 meeting with the Ministry of Security’s (MoS) Coordination Board on the Gender Equality Law, the Project Team maintained contact with the Board's Chairperson, who also chairs the BiH SALW Coordination Board and is the Assistant Minister of MoS. Initially, the project planned limited support for the MoS Coordination Board’s capacity building. However, following an official request from MoS in February 2024, the Project Team, in collaboration with the BiH Agency for Gender Equality, decided to involve the MoS’s Coordination Board in the UNDP Global Gender Equality Seal (GES) for Public Institutions program to be implemented under Project LEAD.  Therefore, in response to MoS BiH’s commitment to join GES, UNDP BiH welcomed their participation and assigned at that time UNDP’s Justice and Security Sector as the contact point, and more specifically LEAD Project Team. Three police agencies within the MoS – Border Police, SIPA and Directorate for Coordination of Police bodies  -are also participating in this activity.

An informational meeting on GES for the Coordination Board was held on 4 September 2024, followed by the hiring of a consultant. Official work began with a workshop in Igman near Sarajevo on 14-15 November 2024, where the consultant trained 22 MoS participants. A GES brochure was distributed, and the MoS GES team started gathering documents for the GES process, which will be uploaded to the GES platform.

The GES initiative, aimed at fostering gender-responsive public policies and services, recognizes institutions advancing gender equality. This aligns with the project’s goal of supporting the MoS Coordination Board, ensuring equal opportunities for women across all security sectors, including SALW control. Following successful completion of this activity by the end of the project, the BiH MoS will have become the first security institution in the world to be awarded one of the medals (gold, silver or bronze) for successfully completing the program.

• Notable progress was made in addressing illegal SALW possession, responsible ownership, and the impact on vulnerable groups from civil society organizations’ (CSO) perspective.  A public call for CSO project proposals was launched on 14 March 2024, with 9 proposals received by the 29 April deadline. 8 proposals met the requirements, and due to their quality, all available funds were allocated to these projects. The signing ceremony of Low Value Grant Agreements took place on 6 August 2024. The first tranche of funds was disbursed in September 2024, marking the start of the projects.
• The Project Team supported and monitored the CSOs, ensuring adherence to guidelines. By December 2024, all eight CSOs submitted first reports, with three requesting the second tranche.  Monitoring visits for these three CSOs confirmed compliance, with no significant issues. CSO "Forum" presented an outline of the film on the dangers of SALW, to be finalized in Q1 2025 and screened in 3 schools. In 2025, the Project Team will continue monitoring and supporting the CSOs to ensure successful project implementation.
• Two associations of women police officials operating in BiH were engaged to promote gender inclusion in SALW control.  On 15 February 2024, the Project Team met with the Chairpersons of two women police associations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, both of which committed to participating in the project.  In coordination with UNDP Serbia (as this is a joint activity with UNDP Serbia), the team organized the first joint meeting of women police associations from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia in Belgrade (15-17 May 2024). This meeting, attended by 21 members from two associations from BiH and one association from Serbia as well as representatives from Serbia-based Association "Female Journalists Against Violence," focused on gender perspectives in SALW policies.

The second meeting took place in in Sarajevo (15-17 October 2024), with total of 24 participants, including the BiH SALW Coordination Board Chairperson.  The meeting highlighted challenges faced by women in law enforcement and their involvement in SALW policy.  As a concrete result of the second meeting, representatives of two associations from BiH attended subsequently scheduled BiH SALW CB meeting and contributed proposals to the 2025-2027 Action Plan in support of a newly prepared SALW Control Strategy covering the period 2025-2030.  Additionally, 5 representatives from two associations from BiH attended the 3rd International Conference in Serbia hosted by the association from Serbia, where they signed a declaration on advancing the position of women in police forces.  Given the importance of the conference, this was marked as the third official meeting among associations from the two jurisdictions.

Main challenges encountered

Given complex constitutional and security structure of BiH, the main challenge in the implementation of the project is the large number of project partners, including police agencies within the country, establishing coordination with all partners, and scheduling activities. Although the Project Team has successfully coordinated all project partners thus far, the current political and security situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina may lead to delays in the implementation of certain project activities within the planned timeframe. Also, and upon consultation with UNDP Serbia colleagues, cross-border activities involving stakeholders from Serbia have also been put on hold due to complex political situation in Serbia.