Office equipment grant to monitor small arms hand-over in Georgia

TSKHINVALI, 18 June 2001 (OSCE) - Ambassador Jean-Michel Lacombe, Head of the OSCE Mission to Georgia, handed over an OSCE grant in form of office equipment, such as computers, phones and fax machines, to the Special Co-ordination Centre, a tripartite peacekeeping force consisting of representatives of Georgian and South Ossetian law-enforcement bodies working in close co-operation with the Joint Peacekeeping Forces (JPKF).

In his speech, Ambassador Lacombe underlined the international community's positive reaction to the ongoing JPKF voluntary hand-over and destruction of small arms in the zone of conflict, and said that the equipment grant was aimed at improving efficiency in combating crime and uncontrolled spread of small arms.

The office equipment, donated by the Norwegian Government, will help registering the amount of small arms handed over. The Norwegian Government also plans to allocate funds for an public awareness campaign aimed at encouraging people in the conflict zone to hand over small arms.

If the program is successful and more arms are handed over, the international community will consider further projects to alleviate social conditions for the civilian population in Georgia. The European Union has already pledged to provide a grant including transport and communication gear for the Special Co-ordination Centre.

As of today, 898 pieces of small arms and 186 kg of explosives have been handed over. Out of these, 536 pieces of small arms and 62 kg of explosives have been destroyed.

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For additional information, contact the OSCE Mission to Georgia, Krtsanisi Govermental Residence No. 5, Tbilisi, Georgia, Tel./Fax: (+995 32) 98 82 05; Tel./Fax: (+995 32) 93 89 15; Fax: (+995 32) 94 23 30, e-mail: osce@access.sanet.ge