OSCE Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons

Adopted at the 308th Plenary Meeting of the OSCE Forum in Vienna, where member states recognized the need to strengthen security among themselves with regards to small arms and light weapons made for military use. Determines a comprehensive approach to destabilizing the spread of small arms, combating illicit trafficking, ensuring small arms are produced and transferred legitimately, and developing appropriate measures of collecting, storing, and destroying small arms at the end of armed conflicts. Ensures effective national control by member states over the manufacture, marketing, and record-keeping of small arms. Establishes criteria for import, export and transit procedures, documentation, and control of small arms in order to reduce opportunities for illicit trafficking. Establishes norms for states to manage national inventories, secure stockpiles, and reduce and destroy surpluses of small arms. Sets guidelines for early warning for conflict prevention, post-conflict rehabilitation, and assessments and recommendations in a post-conflict situation.