Montenegro

Ministry of Interior and Public Administration of Montenegro, UNDP and OSCE signed Memorandum of Understanding on Control and Reduction of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW)

Podgorica, 29 November 2010

There are 105 000 registered small arms and light weapons in Montenegro – this means that every sixth citizen owns a registered weapon, while many more possess illegal weapons. This widespread existence of weapons leads to citizen insecurity, and, in the longer term, threatens the development of the country.  The Ministry of Interior and Public Administration, OSCE Mission to Montenegro and UNDP Montenegro signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), agreeing to upgrade capacities for regulating small arms and light weapons, and reducing the number. The intention is to reduce armed violence, and increase the security of Montenegrin citizens.

The MoU defines the joint obligations of the signatories. Together, they will  strengthen the work of the National Commission for control and reduction of SALW; review the existing Strategy for control and reduction of SALW; prepare Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy; implement the joint project “Control of Small Arms and Prevention of Violence Involving Weapons”; develop policies and legal regulations on control and reduction of SALW (including the Law on Weapons which has already received an expert analysis and recommendations with respect to amendments); develop capacities for the implementation of the necessary international and EU standards and best practices; ensure exchange of best practices and experiences from the countries from the region and wider; develop and implement training modules for the actors in charge of the law implementation in this domain; conduct public raising awareness campaign on dangers of misuse of weapons; as well as a number of other activities.

Mr. Ivan Brajovic, Minister of Interior and Public Administration said: “There are almost 105 000 registered weapons in Montenegro, and we need to add to this a large number of illegal weapons that citizens possess. We hope that the public awareness raising campaigns that we are planning to conduct will improve the situation and will enable a greater level of order in this domain. Our partners in UNDP and OSCE will support this process of a greater control of weapons, and as a part of our joint activities we are planning to establish a new database needed for the implementation of the Law on Weapons, as well as to introduce procedures and standards in accordance with the European standards and best practices.”    

Mr. Alexander Avanessov, UNDP Resident Representative/UN Resident Coordinator to Montenegro said: “Control of SALW will contribute not only to achieving a higher level of security, but will also assist Montenegro on its path to the EU integration. It is necessary to conduct registration of weapons in accordance with the EU standards, as weapons – both legal and illegal – are still widely possessed in Montenegro, and this could hinder further development of the country. These weapons should be destroyed or put under control, while special attention should be paid to raising awareness among citizens on all these issues.”   

Mr. Sarunas Adomavicius, Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro said: “We should always keep in mind that large possession of weapons is related to greater problems, such as organized crime and terrorism. In these terms, OSCE will continue to support the process of SALW reduction and control, especially through public awareness campaigns, educational programmes, open forums and discussions.”