OSCE Centre in Bishkek supports enhancing regulatory legal framework for small arms and light weapons, conventional ammunition

BISHKEK, 19 September 2014 – The OSCE Centre in Bishkek and the Ministry of Defence of the Kyrgyz Republic today hosted the first roundtable discussion on improving the country’s regulatory legal framework for use of small arms and light weapons (SALW) and conventional ammunition.

Representatives from the Ministry of Defence, government and law enforcement agencies together with OSCE experts will discuss the results of an assessment of national legislation and the Ministry’s internal regulations and instructions on SALW and conventional ammunition. They will also discuss recommendations on how to align national legislation with the best international standards, paving the way for a roadmap to be developed to draft amendments to the legislation.

“The Ministry’s normative acts have become outdated as they were based on the old Soviet standards that now differ from newer international ones that represent best practices and OSCE recommendations,” said Maciej Dachowski, the Head the Politico-Military Unit of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. “This exercise is part of a project, which aims to build the capacity of Kyrgyzstan in the physical security and stockpile management of SALW and conventional ammunition. Two more roundtable discussions will follow in November 2014 and in mid-February 2015.”

The project was launched in 2011 based on requests of the Kyrgyz Government dating from 2008 and 2010 for assistance.

On August, 2013 the Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, and the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic represented by the Minister of Defence, signed a memorandum of understanding, which created the legal basis for implementing this project.