Bosnia and Herzegovina is the country most affected by the war following the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Due to the severe intensity of the armed conflict, large amounts of small arms and light weapons (SALW) remained in illegal possession of private individuals and organized smugglers after the war. Consequently, the country represents a fertile ground for illegal trade of SALW, mostly in direction of the European Union given the financial incentive of this type of illegal activity.

Thus, the need to strengthen national integrated border management (IBM) capacities to combat illicit SALW trafficking was recognized by both national and international stakeholders.

Through the project Halting Arms and Lawbreaking Trade (HALT) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, UNDP Bosnia and Herzegovina and UNODC’s Global Firearm Programme aim to enhance the capacities of the Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA i.e. Custom’s Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina) to better detect and respond to illicit arms trafficking. This is achieved through development of standard operating procedures, provision of training, procurement of specialized equipment for the detection of smuggled firearms, and inter-institutional and international cooperation. Apart from ITA, several other institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina will benefit from the project implementation including the Border Police, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations and three postal agencies.

The project seeks to achieve two key results:

1. Enhanced IBM capacity of Bosnia and Herzegovina to better fight illicit SALW trafficking through targeted assistance to ITA, Border Police and three postal agencies

2. Strengthened cooperation and information exchange between ITA and other institutions at national level and with three neighboring states

The project is contributing to Goals 2, 3, 4 ,5, 7 and key performance indicators 4, 6, 9, 10, 14 of the Roadmap for a sustainable solution to the illegal possession, misuse and trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons and their ammunition in the Western Balkans.