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Georgia. 2005 ‘Stockpile Management and Security.’ National Report of Georgia on its Implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (UNPoA), p. 5. New York, NY: Permanent Mission of Georgia to the United Nations. 1 January

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Stockpile Management and Security

Georgia attaches great importance to the issue of stockpile management. In our understanding, essence of the stockpile management and security should not be limited to arms in possession of Georgian Armed Forces, but should also cover the weapons in the possession of private persons, non-state actors, separatist and criminal groups, police forces and arms dealers. From our bitter experience we know that such possession can create bigger problems than army arsenals do. In addition to that, efforts should be also focused on the stock management of munitions and the disposal of surplus stocks of munitions.

In this regard, role of the stockpile management and security is indeed crucial. Existence of the huge amount of small arms in the post-conflict areas, as well as in other parts of Georgia is a direct result of chaos in former Soviet military units, deployed in Georgia. By the beginning of 90th, after the collapse of Soviet Union and withdrawal of several Soviet military units from the territory of Georgia, most part of these arsenals and storage sites were left practically unprotected and unaccounted. As a result, huge number of small arms had been spread among the population. This process was fostered by the absence of discipline in former Soviet military units, it was very easy for anybody to purchase weapons directly from Soviet/Russian military arsenals. The weaknesses of Georgian Law enforcement structures, that were in the process of creation, contributed to this problem. In some parts of Georgia (Abkhazia, Tskinvali region) arms had been deliberately distributed among local authorities and population. Those arms played serious role in escalation of the conflicts in Georgia.

In order to regulate weapons' accountability and control the Inter-Agency Monitoring Group will create integrated database with the detailed information about SALW stocks in Georgia and based on the accumulated information recommendations will be submitted to the National Security Council's Permanent Interagency Commission on Military-Technical Issues to plan the future actions (for future Procurements) among the law enforcement agencies.

[SALW = Small Arms and Light Weapons]

ID: Q3554

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