These meetings brought together relevant MoI/police representatives from Western Balkan jurisdictions to share best practices, address emerging trends, and build capacities through tailored trainings.
At the jurisdiction level1, work on enhancing ethical reporting practices on gender-based violence involving firearms continued through the facilitation of communication between key actors – relevant institutions on one and media and the public on the other side. In 2023 and 2024, SEESAC organized joint trainings for Ministries of Interior, police, and journalists across the region. In 2024, the follow-up trainings, including representatives of prosecutors' offices as well, were organized in all 6 jurisdictions, namely in Vrdnik, Bjelašnica, Skopje, Petrovac, Durres and Pristina.
SEESAC also supported impactful awareness-raising campaigns, including a campaign against pyrotechnics misuse in Serbia, a weapons destruction awareness campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and an ongoing campaign, "Celebrate with Heart, Not Your Gun" in Kosovo*, addressing celebratory shooting and SALW misuse.
1 For the United Nations Development Programme, references to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).
* For the European Union, this designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
