There are large quantities of illicit weapons in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Those are threats to human security on a daily basis and are threats to regional stability. In order to address these risks a consultative meeting was held between the Ministry of Interior of Republika Srpska, the Ministry of Interior of Canton Sarajevo, the Ministry of Interior of Central Bosnia Canton, the Ministry of Interior of Zenica Doboj Canton, the Ministry of Interior of Bosnian Podrinje Canton, the Ministry of Interior of Canton 10, the Ministry of Interior of West Hercegovina Canton, the Ministry of Interior of Hercegovina Neretva Canton and the Police of Brcko District BiH as well as representatives of the international community. The meeting was organized by the United Nations Development Programme.
Under the title „Collection of Illegal Weapons in Bosnia and Herzegovina“ the meeting was used as a platform for discussion on amnesty legislation, campaigns for collection of weapons as well as the destruction of collected weapons and unexploded ordnance. The importance to organize media campaigns aiming to raise awareness of citizens on dangers and risks of illegal possession of weapons, ammunition and unexploded ordnance was underlined. The representatives of institutions presented their project ideas, timeframes and planned activities.
The participants were introduced to the experiences in the region, most notably the experiences in the implementation of weapons collection campaigns in Croatia.
The conclusion of the meeting was that there is an agreement among the participants that the collection campaign is highly recommended in Bosnia and Herzegovina, taking into account the constitutional competencies of different administrative units. A weapons collection campaign plan was drafted to undertake this activity in a coordinated manner by all involved stakeholders recognizing legislative, organizational and financial constraints in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
