On 9 February 2017 an event was held in the Hotel Europe, Sarajevo, to mark the publishing of the ‘Small Arms Survey (SAS) in BiH: The Role of EUFOR Mobile Training Teams for Weapons and Ammunition Management’ working paper. The event was jointly hosted by SAS and EUFOR’s Special Representative for Weapons and Ammunition Disposal. Ms Jovana Carapic from SAS moderated the discussions of the panel which consisted of the BiH MoD Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff, Major General Sena Mašović; EUFOR SAWAD, Colonel Martin Trachsler; and Ms Sezin Sinanoglu from the UN Development Programme.
Swiss Ambassador Rauber-Saxer Introducing the Working Paper
As the SAS organisation is Swiss-led, Ambassador Andrea Rauber-Saxer from the Swiss Embassy gave the welcome address. This was followed by a presentation on the project by Ms Carapic, covering background, achievements and outlook. The panel then spoke in turn about the project from their own viewpoint where General Mašović applauded the achievements to date but stressed there were still obstacles to overcome before the planned completion in less than 2 years’ time.
Ambassador Rauber-Saxer said: “Capacity building and training play a key role in establishing an effective [weapons and ammunition] life-cycle management system. This is what was achieved by the tri-national EUFOR Mobile Training Team”.
EUFOR has the executive mandate to maintain a safe and secure environment in BiH, and a non-executive mandate to support capacity building and training of the Armed Forces BiH (AFBiH). SAWAD’s role is to oversee the design and implementation of the Ammunition, Weapons and Explosives Master Plan activities in BiH as well as heading the EUFOR Mobile Training Team which is responsible for the Physical Security and Stockpile Management capacity building and training of the AFBiH.
Established in 1999, the Small Arms Survey is a global center of excellence whose mandate is to generate impartial, evidence based, and policy-relevant knowledge on all aspects of small arms and armed violence.
