German foreign policy is committed to peace and security around the world. Germany primarily defines its peace and security policy in multilateral terms, that is, within the framework of international institutions and structures such as the EU, NATO, the United Nations, the OSCE, the G7 and the G20.

In the OSCE context, Germany is a reliable supporter in the field of small arms control and ammunition security. The control of small arms and light weapons, including their ammunition - as an essential element of crisis prevention and peace-building - is a central concern of the Federal Government in the field of conventional arms control. The continuous and reliable support of practical assistance projects through funding and technical expertise, represents a reliable factor in the planning and implementation of mandates and commitments within the OSCE.

In this regards, the Federal Ministry of Defence supports the training of armed and security forces in physical security and stockpile management (PSSM), marking and tracing of small arms and ammunition through experts from the Bundeswehr Verification Centre (ZVBw), e.g. as part of the OSCE Assistance Mechanism, and promotes the strengthening and further development of international standards such as the United Nations' International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG) or the OSCE's Best Practice Guides by providing technical expertise.

By direct contributions of the Federal Foreign Office the OSCE participating States are enabled to better plan, implement and - where necessary - strengthen their commitments in the fight against the illicit proliferation of SALW/CA and provides the OSCE with continuous political support and multi-year funding for this purpose. Part of this funding has been used for the development of this SALW portal. The importance of this digital tool, which will be made available to all OSCE participating States, their international partners and the general public, is to ensure greater transparency and a detailed overview of all SALW and SCA assistance projects active throughout the OSCE region.