Publication

This report is concerned with the issue of small arms and light weapons (SALW) proliferation in Macedonia. Before the 2001 crisis, when fighting broke out between ethnic Macedonians and ethnic Albanians, most people in the country did not consider SALW proliferation to be a serious problem. This has now changed, and the government that was elected in September 2002, made up of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) and the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), concerned that the large number of illegally-held guns could act as a further catalyst for violence, has placed measures of weapons control and collection high on its agenda.