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As a result of the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Yugoslav wars, a legacy of the 1990s in Europe has been the proliferation and trafficking of weapons (Small Arms and Light Weapons, SALW)
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and ammunition. Locally, this equipment is both a source of and
a means for criminal activities. It also turns up in the global illegal market – a development that regional actors such as the European Union (EU) and the Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) deem an urgent security concern.
Kosovo is part of this broader picture. Emerged from a conflict that included the irregular forces of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), since 1999 it has undergone a process of Demilitarization Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR), and several campaigns of weapons seizure and voluntary surrender. Yet, the estimates of illegal weapons possession, no matter how uncertain, are still high compared to collection figures – a gap that must and can be bridged. Contrary to conventional wisdom, which takes Kosovo as a “gun paradise,” the problem is tractable. What is needed is a clear policy that reflects the Kosovo experience, rather than proceed from a series of myths, such as the enduring strength of a “gun culture” linked to ancestral traditions.