HALT Project

HALT Project

Halting Arms and Lawbreaking Trade (HALT) is a targeted intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina that aims at improving the security and safety of the Western Balkans in the context of the implementation of the Roadmap for a sustainable solution to the illegal possession, misuse and trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW)/firearms and their ammunition in the Western Balkans (Roadmap).

This intervention will result in the capacitation of the Indirect Taxation Authority (ITA) to better detect and process illicit SALW trafficking. Apart from the ITA, several other BiH institutions will profit from the project implementation, including BiH Border Police, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations and three postal agencies.

This intervention is tailor-made and seeks to address the needs of BiH outlined in several national strategies, including but not limited to the national SALW Strategy 2016-2020 and 2021-2024.

The Project is implemented by UNDP and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

HALT Project Objective

Increase safety and security within and beyond the Western Balkans through targeted actions to improve capacities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to combat illicit SALW trafficking.

Output 1: Enhanced integrated border management (IBM) capacity of BiH to better fight illicit SALW trafficking through targeted assistance to ITA, Border Police and three postal agencies.

The targeted assistance to ITA, Border Police and three postal agencies will, in each case, result in their staff being better trained and equipped and their infrastructure improved to more effectively combat illicit arms trafficking.

Output 2: Strengthened cooperation and information exchange between BiH Customs and other institutions at the national level and with three neighbouring states.

The joint tripartite cooperation between ITA, State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) and Border Police will be in place, with joint exercises to strengthen IBM capacities to combat illicit SALW trafficking. Apart from inter-institutional cooperation in BiH, cooperation with three neighboring countries, Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro, will also improve, leading to better-coordinated actions to jointly combat SALW trafficking.

Donors

The Western Balkans SALW Control Roadmap Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF)

Project value and donors

Budget: USD 2,200,000 - UNDP (USD 1,111,061.00), UNODC (USD 1,088,939.00)

Germany, United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Netherlands, and Norway, with support of the European Union

Main Partners:

Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH, Border Police of BiH, SIPA (State Investigation and Protection Agency), Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH, Ministry of Security of BiH, Ministry of Transport and Communication of BiH.

Key Achievements as of 31 March 2022

✔️ Finalized the work on developing eight (8) (SOPs) for BiH Customs on tackling the illicit trade of firearms relevant to UNDP’s project component;

✔️ 14 ITA officials (11 men and three women) have passed the train-the-trainer course and prepared for delivering one-day training to BiH Customs officials;

✔️ Increased capacity of 738 Customs Officers (195 women and 543 men) trained on the application of SOPs and specialised detection equipment through 32 one-day iterations in 15 cities across all four ITA Regional Centers;

✔️ Raised awareness through seven (7) consultative workshops on strengthening the promotion of gender equality in the ITA organised in close cooperation with ITA, BiH Agency for Gender Equality, Association of Women Police Network, Ministry of Security, SEESAC -- 169 ITA employees (119 women and 50 men) participated in workshops, including 85 supervisors from all levels;

✔️ Improved ITA capabilities through procurement of twelve (12) videoscopes (endoscopes) and four (4) mobile detectors for explosives and narcotics procured;

✔️ Working Group at the Operational Level was established, and two meetings took place – one online and one in-person;

✔️ Scenario for joint tripartite exercise (ITA, SIPA and BP) drafted and seven joint activities completed with the participation of 223 officials, including law enforcement agencies from all levels;

✔️ Cooperation between the ITA and relevant customs services of Montenegro and Serbia was established through the organisation of 2 bilateral meetings in Podgorica, Montenegro and Belgrade, Serbia.