Addressing security challenges of small arms and light weapons and stockpiles of conventional ammunition in focus at OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation

VIENNA, 25 January 2018 – International efforts to provide a safe security environment by combating the spread of small arms and light weapons (SALW) and by promoting the secure and safe stockpiling of SALW and conventional ammunition was the focus of yesterday’s OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation meeting in Vienna, under Slovakia’s Chairmanship of the Forum.

“The issues of the uncontrolled and illicit spread of SALW and of surplus stocks of conventional ammunition in the OSCE area remain to this day two of the biggest challenges for the OSCE because they undermine the security of all participating States,” said Ambassador Radomír Boháč, Chairperson of the Forum and Permanent Representative of Slovakia to the OSCE.

Noting that the OSCE, at the request of its participating States and Partners for Co-operation, provides assistance with the collection and destruction of SALW and surpluses of conventional ammunition, helps improve legislation to effectively their control, and assists in improving the management of conventional ammunition stockpiles, Boháč said the participants present at the Forum would benefit from hearing examples of projects conducted by some of the OSCE’s international partners. 

“It is crucial to avoid duplication and competition among international organizations in the delivery of projects,” said Tom Van Beneden, Project Officer at NATO’s Support and Procurement Agency. He highlighted projects in Bulgaria, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine, where a key focus has been “capability building, knowledge exchange and the sharing of best practices in the field of SALW and stockpiles of conventional ammunition”.

Shelley Inglis, Governance and Peacebuilding Team Leader at the UN Development Programme’s Regional Hub in Istanbul, said that UNDP’s has focused on regional cooperation initiatives that ensure coherence and coordination, in particular in South-Eastern and Eastern Europe.

“Regional processes contribute to information exchange, knowledge transfer, standardization and networking,” she said. “These lead to enhanced capacity for evidence-based policymaking resulting in more efficient legal and policy frameworks for SALW control.” She also emphasized the importance of further integrating the gender perspective into addressing the causes and consequences of SALW proliferation and in providing for a secure and safe environment.