OpenLegislation

Division Description

United Kingdom

Original text. Later amendments are not shown.

Goal 1 of the Roadmap aims to ensure that arms-control legislation in the Western Balkans is in place and fully harmonised with the Union regulatory framework and other related international obligations by 2023. There is an evident and urgent need for such a legislative and regulatory framework on SALW/firearms control in the Western Balkans to effectively regulate arms control and facilitate the response to relevant threats. This will consequently enable the compatibility of arms-control laws and procedures in the Western Balkans and the standardisation of SALW/firearms control procedures and practices. Such standardisation would allow for the removal of obstacles preventing law enforcement and the judiciary from cooperating directly, exchanging information and conducting joint or parallel investigations. It would also allow for a better and more efficient response to the firearm-related threats at national, regional and European level. Additionally, as the gender perspective is often neither recognised nor adequately addressed by legislative and policy frameworks regulating SALW control in South-East Europe, thereby making the arms-control efforts less efficient in providing security for all citizens, whether women, men, girls or boys, the project will contribute to the integration of the gender perspective in arms-control legislation.

Building upon the expert support provided to the authorities in the region through the implementation of Decision 2013/730/CFSP, this component will support the authorities in the region with a view to: providing a better understanding of the current baseline and gaps of the legal framework in the six beneficiaries; ensuring technical support for full harmonisation with the Union regulatory framework and other international agreements/standards; developing tailor-made national and regional thematic workshops; updating the regional arms-law compendium; carrying out a gender screening of the legal framework of the project beneficiaries in order to ensure that policies regulating arms control are not silent about the linkages between SALW and gender; and continuing the Gender Coach programme. The action will also provide support for strengthening the capacities of SALW commissions for outreach and advocacy through training on media strategy development.

It will do so through the:

  • development of an assessment and gap analysis of partners' legal frameworks on SALW control and the level of harmonisation with Union and international legislation, as well as the level of standardisation of procedures in the region;

  • provision of support for legislative standardisation and harmonisation through continuous and on-demand advisory support and the organisation of thematic workshops on arms laws, regulations and criminal codes at both regional and national level;

  • updating of the regional arms-law compendium as an easy-reference guide for SALW/firearms control legislation in the region;

  • carrying-out of a gender screening of the legal framework and the continuation of the Gender Coach programme;

  • training on media strategy development.

Project results/implementation indicators:

  • Assessment and gap analysis (six) of legal framework reports for each beneficiary;

  • Up to three regional workshops and six thematic workshops for the beneficiaries;

  • Provision of on-demand expertise on legislative and policy updates;

  • Updated arms-law compendium translated into all of the relevant languages of the region;

  • Gender-screening reports on the arms legal framework (six reports);

  • Gender Coach programme with two heads of SALW commissions;

  • Media strategy development and training.