Columbia International Affairs Online
CIAO DATE: 8/5/2007
SALW Parliamentary Handbook
2006 October
South Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons
Abstract
In most countries within South Eastern Europe a combination of past conflict and weak, but developing state institutions has resulted in varying degrees of control over the possession, use and trade in weapons in the first few years of the decade. Limited police performance, corruption and the growth of organised crime and trafficking networks, have effectively served to both justify illicit weapons possession in the minds of many, and also allowed for undesirable transfers and possession of illegal Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW). Problems with co-operation and exchange of information, either at the national level between the different relevant departments or agencies, or internationally between governments, have also been evident.
