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Grillot, Suzette R.. 2010 ‘The Spread and Control of Small Arms in Bosnia and Herzegovina.’ Guns in the Balkans: Controlling Small Arms and Light Weapons in Seven Western Balkan Countries; Vol. 10 (No. 2), pp. 152-153. London: Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, Taylor & Francis. 1 June

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The Spread and Control of Small Arms in Bosnia and Herzegovina

According to a recent small arms survey in Bosnia, there are approximately 900,000 to 1,200,000 small arms and light weapons in the country, spread among military and police forces and civilians. Somewhere between 150,000 and 500,000 unregistered weapons are suspected to be held illegally by the civilian population…

Moreover, Bosnia maintains a significant arms industry, with nine weapons-producing factories in the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and approximately 17 in the Republika Srpska (Center for Security Studies Bosnia 2003, 51-8).

To contend with weapons transfers issues, the January 2003 'Law on the Import and Export of Weapons and Military Equipment' requires that weapons producers and exporters obtain licenses from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations (MoFTER) for the import, export, transit and brokering of military equipment (Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry of Trade and Economic Relations 2003).

In 2005, the law was further amended to address dual-use goods, as well as a new requirement for enduser certificates for arms transfer, and requires that the government of BiH be informed of any re-transfer (Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations 2006; SEESAC 2006b).

The 2005 law also transformed the former interagency process into the 'Coordination Board for Control of SALW', which includes representatives from the Ministry of State, MFA, MoD, MoFTER, Tax Authority and the entity-level Ministries of Defense and Interior (SEESAC 2006b)…

[T]he 2003 legislation requires the MoFTER to establish a database of licenses issued and submit a report to the Parliamentary Assembly every six months. In an effort to promote international information sharing, the law encourages, but does not require, the government to share records of licensed arms sales with the UN, OSCE and other countries…

Sources Cited:
Center for Security Studies Bosnia. 2003. Needs assessment on small arms and light weapons in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Sarajevo: Center for Security Studies Bosnia.

Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry of Trade and Economic Relations. 2003. Law on the import and export of weapons and military equipment.
http://www.seesac.org/uploads/armslaws/bosnia.pdf

Bosnia and Herzegovina Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations. 2006. Export control in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
http://www.exportcontrol.org/library/conferences/1379/BOSNIA_--_export_control.pdf

SEESAC. 2006b. South Eastern Europe SALW Monitor 2006: Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Belgrade: SEESAC. http://www.seesac.org/uploads/salw_monitor/Bosnia%20and%20Herzegovina-06.

[BiH = Bosnia and Herzegovina; MFA = Ministry of Foreign Affairs; MoD = Ministry of Defence; MoFTER = Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations; OSCE = Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]

ID: Q11609

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