News and press releases

On 2 and 3 October 2024, the OSCE and the European Union Advisory Mission to Ukraine (EUAM) organized a seminar in support of Ukraine’s National Co-ordination Centre on combating the illicit trafficking of firearms, their components and ammunition. The seminar, held in Kyiv, brought together 20 representatives from across Ukrainian law enforcement agencies who are members of the Co-ordination Centre, established in June 2024, or will support its work.

Against the backdrop of persistent security challenges in South-Eastern Europe, a milestone in the fight against transnational threats and organized crime has been achieved. Today, the OSCE Mission to Skopje opened the new state-of-the-art Regional K9 Training and Certification Centre in Gjorche

From 24 to 27 September, the OSCE held a series of meetings with representatives of Moldovan law enforcement agencies to enhance their capacities to detect and investigate illicit trafficking, particularly focusing on the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons (SALW).

The equipment will increase the weapons and explosives detection capacities of various agencies across BiH, including the BiH Border Police, the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), the Police of Brčko District BiH, the Republika Srpska Ministry of Interior, the Federal Police Administration, as well as the Ministries of Interior of the Tuzla Canton, Una-Sana Canton, and Zenica-Doboj Canton.

The Coordination Board for Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina organized the first in a series of countrywide meetings to support relevant institutions and civil society actors in jointly addressing challenges related to misuse of small arms and light weapons (SALW) in Tuzla.

An intensive three-week Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Level 1 course commenced on 16 September 2024 at the Regional Explosive Hazards Training Centre (REHTC) of Tajikistan’s Ministry of Defense.

On 3 and 4 of September 2024, the OSCE Presence in Albania organized a two-day workshop on illicit firearms trafficking, involving members of the Trafficking Investigation Sectors of the Albanian State Police (ASP) at both the central and local levels, prosecutors from the General Prosecution