The BiH Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) Control Strategy reaffirms the country’s commitment to preventing, controlling and eradicating the proliferation of SALW in accordance with international initiatives and standards. The BiH SALW Control Co-ordination Board, the official body steering institutional efforts on implementation of the SALW Strategy, has identified several new gaps hampering implementation. The identified areas have been addressed to the OSCE through the BiH Ministry of Security in the form of an official assistance request delivered on 15 March 2019, and presented to the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) on 9 October 2019.

In response to this request, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina developed a dedicated Extra Budgetary Project no: 2200469 designed to address security and safety risks of illegal possession, misuse and trafficking of SALW and their ammunition in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

The newly launched Extra Budgetary Project is addressing five priority areas, as identified by the BiH authorities:

1. improving Physical Security and Stockpile Management (PSSM) of the LEAs’ SALW and ammunition storage infrastructure;
2. support the institutions, and the SALW CCB by providing the monitoring and evaluation of their public awareness activities on the dangers/risks of misuse and proliferation of SALW, ammunition and explosives;
3. building the LEAs’ canine (K9) capabilities for detecting SALW, ammunition and explosives;
4. supporting the development of an integrated SALW and ammunition inter-institutional track record database and reporting mechanism; and
5. supporting the development of the legislative framework on SALW deactivation and its implementation.

For over a decade the OSCE has worked closely with security sector institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina to decrease the risk of accidental explosion, theft and onward proliferation of weapons and ammunition in its stockpiles. The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina established a long-standing partnership with the Ministry of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina providing support towards safer and more secure storage, handling and disposal of unstable and surplus ammunition through upgrades to physical security infrastructure at ammunition and weapons storage sites and improved ammunition and weapons life cycle management.

Project on Security Infrastructure Upgrade of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ammunition and Weapons Storage Sites (SECUP BiH) was the first project implemented jointly by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and BiH Ministry of Defence from October 2013 until the end of 2016. SECUP BiH accomplished significant results in terms of upgrading security of the four prospective Storage Sites. However, international and national experts have in several workshops identified further areas for improvement in the field of SALW/CA and Physical Security Stockpile Management. These further areas were proposed to be addressed through the follow-on project “Safety and Security Upgrade of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ammunition and Weapons Storage Sites (SAFE-UP BiH)” implemented in the period 2017 – 2021.

Beyond the As a key international partner to the national authorities, the Mission supports the implementation of the national strategy for the control of SALW, related actions plans, and the regional SALW Roadmap. Within that framework, the Mission implemented several important SALW control projects.