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Arms control

The end of the Cold War resulted in a huge amount of surplus weapons becoming available illegally. The OSCE, through its field operations, helps to stop the spread of such weapons and offers assistance with their destruction. The Forum for Security Co-operation, which is the main OSCE body dealing with politico-military aspects of security, contributes to these efforts by developing documents regulating transfers of conventional arms and establishing principles governing non-proliferation.

Latest stories

Nearly 1,300 bombs and 19 missiles destroyed as part of large-scale OSCE Soviet-era ammunition demolition project in Georgia

The explosion of a cluster bomb on 12 July 2013 at a demolition range in Georgia marked the end of a two-year project by the OSCE and the United Nations Development Programme to help the country destroy 1,289 pieces of aircraft ammunition and 19 missiles...

More than 400 tons of toxic rocket fuel removed from Kazakhstan, with OSCE help

SARY OZEK, KAZAKHSTAN, 29 June 2013 - A train carrying 410 tonnes of a toxic rocket fuel component, which had been stored in deteriorating containers, left Kazakhstan today for safe disposal at a specialized chemical plant in Dzerzhinsk, Russia as part of a project supported by the OSCE... ()

Secretary General discusses role of OSCE in ensuring European security at conference in Moscow

The comprehensive approach of the OSCE to contemporary security challenges and its efforts to redefine its agenda and reinvigorate conventional arms control processes were key themes of OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier’s address to a high-level conference in Moscow on 23 May 2013...

Tracing illicit small arms and light weapons to be discussed at OSCE-supported meeting in Vienna

VIENNA, 21 May 2013 – Ways to trace illicit small arms and light weapons, existing legal framework and practical approaches will be in focus of an OSCE-supported conference to take place from 23 to 24 May in Vienna...

OSCE promotes safe storage of small arms and light weapons in Turkmenistan

Ways of securely storing small arms and light weapons (SALW) and conventional ammunition (CA) were presented and discussed from 8 to 11 April 2013 in an OSCE technical seminar in Ashgabat... ()

OSCE Office in Tajikistan boosts cross-border dialogue on mine action

DUSHANBE, 19 February 2013 – A three-day regional workshop on “National Mine Action Standards” started in Dushanbe today with the support of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan... ()

OSCE Presence helps destroy surplus ammunition in Albania

ELBASAN, Albania, 1 October 2012 - The Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, Ambassador Eugen Wollfarth, pledged support for destroying remaining surplus ammunition during a visit to the Mjekes military factory in Elbasan in central Albania today... ()

OSCE Office in Tajikistan helps destroy more than 600 small arms and light weapons

DUSHANBE, 13 September 2012 – The OSCE Office observes and supports an operation to destroy small arms and light weapons which started in Dushanbe today... ()