The Security Policy Sector includes in its structure a section in charge of arms control issues with a competence to follow global and regional developments in the field of arms control, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as affairs related to arms, military equipment and dual-use goods export control. In accordance with its foreign policy goals and priorities, the Republic of Serbia follows closely the international standards regarding the above areas and submits regularly reports on its implementation of commitments arising from the relevant international conventions ratified by the Republic of Serbia. Furthermore, Serbia has aligned its legislation with the European Union's export control standards.

1. Export control

All matters related to import/export licensing, provision of brokering services and technical assistance, as well as the grounds for transport and transit control of arms and military equipment have been covered by the Law on the Export and Import of Arms and Military Equipment which came into force on 16 October 2014, while the procedures concerning import/export licensing, provision of brokering services and technical assistance, transport and transit of dual-use goods have been provided for by the Law on the Export and Import of Dual-Use Goods which came into force on 8 November 2013. Both of these laws have been fully aligned with the standards of the European Union. Furthermore, the Law on International Restrictive Measures was adopted on 4. February 2016. This Law established a legal basis for full and efficient implementation of international restrictive measures being imposed by international organizations which include the Republic of Serbia as a member.

The Republic of Serbia ratified the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) on 29 October 2014. ATT is an international legally-binding document which defines global criteria, principles, parameters and new standards that the States Parties should adhere to when issuing licences for transfers of conventional arms. The aim of this Treaty is inter alia to raise the credibility of arms trade as much as possible, by making the very process more transparent, strengthening cooperation between states and by minimizing the possibility of illicit arms trade.

By its Conclusion of April 2008, the Government of the Republic of Serbia set into motion the negotiation mechanism for Serbia's joining the international control regimes for the export of arms and dual-use goods. On 30 April 2014, the Republic of Serbia joined the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), an international control regime dealing with export control of nuclear materials and dual-use goods. The negotiations for joining the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) were initiated in 2009 and are still in progress. The Republic of Serbia is also aiming to realize its membership of the Australian Group (AG) and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).

In addition, as a regular activity, the Republic of Serbia submits information for the UN Register of Conventional Arms and the OSCE's register of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), reports on the implementation of the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects (CCW), reports on meeting the requirements arising from the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (the Ottawa Treaty), and also reports on the implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty.

2. Non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

In order to maintain national security and ensure compliance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, international conventions and agreements, the Republic of Serbia consistently applies the existing WMD (weapons of mass destruction) non-proliferation norms. In this context, the Republic of Serbia implements its commitments under UNSC Resolution 1540 on non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, adopted on 28 April 2004 as the first UNSC resolution to explicitly note joint efforts in countering the threat to international peace and security posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems. In line with this Resolution, for purposes of its implementation the Government of the Republic of Serbia has adopted the National Action Plan and formed a Task Force, chaired by a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Law on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction was adopted in May 2009. Serbia has fully complied with all its obligations under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (Chemical Weapons Convention - CWC): It regularly submits its annual declarations and carries out other obligations resulting therefrom. The Centre for NBCW in Krusevac closely cooperates with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), as a regional training centre which holds international training courses on cooperation and assistance against the use of chemical weapons and for OPCW inspectors.

Since 2007, the Republic of Serbia has been actively participating in the activities of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) which has the primary goal to strengthen security of civilian nuclear power plants, promote capacity to detect nuclear and other radioactive materials and substances with the aim of preventing illicit trade of such materials and substances, to promote the Partners' ability to investigate and confiscate, and also establish a secure system of control over illegal ownership of such materials, as well as devices for their use.

In 2006, the Republic of Serbia joined the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) the goal of which was to form a global coordination network for all the states involved, aiming to prevent the illicit trade of weapons of mass destruction.

The Republic of Serbia submits regularly annual reports on Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) concerning the implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction, as well as information on the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1540. Furthermore, when it comes to the activities in the field of non-proliferation, the Republic of Serbia has signed and ratified the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Safeguards Agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and its amendments.

3. Arms Control

The Republic of Serbia, as the legal successor/continuance state of the FR of Yugoslavia/State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, has significantly contributed to the adoption and implementation of the Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control, thus confirming in a concrete way the importance it attaches to regional or sub-regional cooperation in the important and sensitive area such as arms control. This Agreement was signed at Florence, on 14 June 1996, in accordance with Article IV of Annex 1-B to the Dayton/Paris Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Agreement defined restrictions for each of the sides, i.e., numerical limits on holdings of five categories of weapons restricted by the Agreement, namely tanks, artillery (over 75 mm calibre), armoured combat vehicles, combat aircraft and attack helicopters. The Agreement also provides for mechanisms and procedures for aligning the quantities of weapons in categories subject to limits with the agreed ceiling, aiming to achieve and maintain the military equilibrium in the region. However, the Agreement does not relate to the quality and sophistication of weapons and, in this context, all the Parties are given the possibility to take measures they deem necessary to modernize their respective armed forces, within the set limits and in line with agreed procedures. Rights and obligations arising from the Agreement are legally binding.

As a result of the responsible and consistent approach taken in its implementation, but also due to having reached a high level of total capacities for it to be implemented individually, with support of the OSCE CiO's Personal Representative for Article IV as well as of the member states of the Contact Group, in 2010, the sides officially initiated the procedure of transferringthe ownership to themselves, which was formally brought to an end by signing the amendments on 18 December 2014.

Annex 1:

List of Conventions and international arms control treaties ratified by the Republic of Serbia:

• Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)
• Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare/Geneva Protocol of 1925 (the Law on Withdrawing the Reservation to the Protocol was adopted in 2009);
• Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT);
• Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (BTWC);
• Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (CWC);
• Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM);
• Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (Nuclear Terrorism Convention);
• Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT);
• Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident;
• Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency;
• Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects, the so-called inhuman weapons or the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW);
• Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (Ottawa Treaty);
• 2001 Regional Implementation Plan of the Stability Pact;
• United Nations Program of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (UN PoA SALW);
• UN Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Trans-National Organized Crime (UN Firearms Protocol or UNFP);
• Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCoC);
• Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). (In February 2004, the then Serbia and Montenegro unilaterally agreed to comply with the MTCR document "Equipment, Software and Technology" of 30 May 2003, as well as with the "Guidelines for Significant Transfer of Sensitive Projectiles" of 7 January 1993);
• Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control/Florence Agreement of 1996;
• 1999 Vienna Document on Confidence and Security Building Measures (CSBM);
• OSCE Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), including other relevant OSCE decisions: on conventional weapons stockpiles, light man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS), end-user certification, brokering, etc.