OSCE meeting reviews practical assistance projects on small arms and light weapons and stockpiles of conventional ammunition
VIENNA, 3 October 2017 – More than 120 representatives of OSCE participating States, Partners for Co-operation and other partnering organizations have gathered for a two-day meeting in Vienna today to review the implementation of OSCE assistance projects under the OSCE Documents on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and Stockpiles of Conventional Ammunition (SCA) and explore possible further actions in this field.
Opening the meeting, Chairperson of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation Serbian Ambassador Roksanda Nincic pointed out the necessity to mitigate destabilizing accumulations of SALW and SCA in the OSCE region, which might become subject to illicit trafficking and contribute to armed conflict. She also stressed that when OSCE participating States work together on improving arms control and weapons management, they contribute to national, regional and global security.
Robin Mossinkoff, speaking on behalf of Director of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre Marcel Pesko, said: “We are all here together to evaluate our progress towards sustainable goals under SALW- and SCA-related regional and international commitments. As the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre, we can promise our continuous support to keep moving forward on this path of progress.” He also thanked the donors who put their trust in the OSCE to help participating States decrease their excesses of unsafe SALW and SCA, manage stockpiles and eradicate the illicit trading of weapons, ammunition and explosives in all its aspects.
In a joint Franco-German opening address, Marcus Bleinroth, Head of the Division of Conventional Disarmament, Arms Control and CSBMs of the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, underlined: “The OSCE meets one of the central security policy challenges of our time. Small arms have the potential to destabilize entire states and societies. In view of their high numbers of victims, they are the real "weapons of mass destruction" of our time.” Lucie Faucherre, Advisor to the Director of the Directorate for Strategic Affairs, Security and Disarmament of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, added: “Illegally held and marketed SALW fuel terrorism, organized crime and armed conflict. It is therefore urgent to continue to mobilize the international community and to support the effective implementation of existing international instruments in order to achieve concrete progress in combating trafficking in SALW.”
“The OSCE region, with its own SALW and SCA regimes, assistance mechanisms and field projects, has not only always been a priority area for Switzerland, but was also the starting point of our active engagement with our own expertise,” said Colonel Prasenjit Chaudhuri, Head of the Verification Centre of the Swiss Armed Forces. He also outlined three strategic objectives of Switzerland’s policy on SALW and SCA: “Firstly, the universalization and the political recognition of the existing international and regional instruments, secondly, full and effective implementation of existing obligations; and thirdly, international co-operation and assistance.”
The OSCE has provided a platform to support participating States in addressing issues pertaining to SALW and SCA for more than 15 years. The OSCE Secretariat and field operations currently implement 16 practical assistance projects on SALW and SCA in 9 participating States, valued at close to 19 million EUR.