Publications

This guide provides recommended best practices that will facilitate and enhance proper management of national stockpiles of conventional ammunition, explosive material and detonating devices. It contains information useful for those individuals currently working in ammunition storage locations and those managers involved in the chain of command over these facilities that are working to establish national policy and procedures. These practices will help participating States (pS) both use their resources more efficiently and to diminish the risk of dangerous situations involving theft, loss, or accident.

This Best Practice Guide applies exclusively to state-owned stockpiles of conventional ammunition for military, paramilitary, security and police forces of a participating state in accordance with section II and III of the OSCE Document on Stockpiles of Conventional Ammunition (FSC.DOC/1/03, dated 19 November 2003). All other ammunition, such as ammunition in private possession or ammunition used for non-conventional weapons like NBC weapons or other CBRN devices, is excluded. It contains information especially useful for those who are working on establishing national policy and procedures. Consequently the information and recommendations provided may be used as a basis for developing policy guidance, general operational guidelines and procedures on all aspects of ammunition marking, registration and record-keeping.

The aim of this best practice guide (BPG) is to provide guidance for the effective management and security of national Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) stockpiles. This guide is intended to help establish high common standards and serve as the basis for the development, application and facilitation of further national standards in the field of improving national stockpile management and security.

This best practice guide was originally drafted and developed as Annex C – Man-portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS) to the Best Practice Guide on National Procedures for Stockpile Management, Security and Destruction by the governments of the United States of America, Germany, Canada, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Russian Federation, Sweden and Turkey. This revision establishes a stand-alone, best practice guideline on National Procedures for Stockpile Management, Security and Destruction of Man-portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS), drafted by the government of the United States of America with review and recommendations submitted from Germany, United Kingdom, Russian Federation, Switzerland and OSCE Field Offices.

The Best Practice Guide on Deactivation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) suggests minimum standards, approaches and procedures to ensure the permanent deactivation of SALW, and provides recommendations on how to incorporate these into national norms and legislation. The Guide details concrete measures for the participating States to take in marking and record-keeping of weapons and also puts forward technical specifications for the deactivation of SALW. It also contributes to the OSCE efforts in preventing diversion of SALW in the OSCE area and beyond. First adopted in 2018, the Guide has been reviewed and updated to ensure that it remains relevant and applicable. In recognition of the importance of ensuring irreversible SALW deactivation, the OSCE minimum standards have been strengthened by a number of technical updates for rendering SALW and their essential parts permanently inoperable.

The OSCE’s 57 participating States have developed the world’s most advanced regime of arms control, disarmament and confidence- and security-building measures. The Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) is the key OSCE platform that supports this work and where the States cooperate for greater openness and transparency to increase military security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian areas.

The paper provides an analysis of OSCE participant States responses to the voluntary reporting on Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) through the annual information exchange on the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security. It provides a better understanding on the scope and impact of PMSCs in the OSCE area and identifies ways to foster a thoughtful dialogue among participating States on the nature and regulation of PMSCs.