SE

EUROP E

CENTRE FOR SECURITY COOPERATION

ZAGREB

20
YEARS
OF FOSTERING SECURITY DIALOGUE
AND COOPERATION IN SEE
 SE
EUROP E

CENTRE FOR SECURITY COOPERATION

20 Years of Fostering Security

Dialogue and Cooperation in SEE
 PUBLISHER
RACVIAC-Centre for Security Cooperation

FOR THE PUBLISHER

MG (ret.) Jeronim Bazo (AL), RACVIAC Director

CO-PUBLISHER
Croatian University Press
Anita Šikić, General Manager

EDITOR IN CHIEF
MG Slaven Zdilar PhD (HR), RACVIAC

EXECUTIVE EDITOR
MAJ Marija Čičak

CONTRIBUTORS
MG (ret.) Jeronim Bazo (AL), MG Slaven Zdilar (HR), COL Servet Aya (TR), Ana Ezova Krzaloska (MK),
Boško Rotim (HR), Josip Mandić (HR), MAJ Marija Čičak (HR), Beata Varga (HU), Vedrana Djukarić (HR),
LTC Ivica Budimir (BA), Berat Jashari (Kosovo*), Zrinka Smeh Martinović (HR)

REVIEWERS
LTG (ret.) Slavko Barić, PhD
Prof. Ozren Žunec, PhD

LANGUAGE EDITOR
LTC (ret.) Vesna Iveković

LAYOUT EDITORS Graphic and Technical Editor

Erika Mikluš, Andreja Sečen (Croatian Military Academy “Dr. Franjo Tuđman”)

COVER DESIGN
Erika Mikluš

PRINTED BY
Tiskara Zelina d.d., Sv. Ivan Zelina

CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the National and
University Library in Zagreb, item no. 001076748.

ISBN 978-953-59418-1-1

ISBN 978-953-169-477-3

Copyright ©2020. All copyrights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, photocopying, recording or duplication in any
information system for storage and us without the prior consent of the publisher.
 SE
EUROP E

CENTRE FOR SECURITY COOPERATION

20 Years of Fostering Security

Dialogue and Cooperation in SEE

Zagreb, 2020
RACVIAC gratefully acknowledges the extensive technical and
expert support in designing and publishing this book provided
by the Croatian Defence Academy “Dr. Franjo Tuđman”.
 CONTENT
FOREWORD................................................9
HISTORY....................................................15
RACVIAC TODAY.....................................23
MISSION..........................................................................................................................................................23
RACVIAC MEMBERS .............................................................................................................................27
RACVIAC’S STEERING GROUP.......................................................................................................29
RACVIAC STRUCTURE / PERSONNEL.....................................................................................32
PILLARS...............................................................................................................................................35
FINANCIAL POLICY.................................................................................................................................40
CO-OPERATION AND PARTNERSHIPS....................................................................................41
LOCATION AND FACILITIES.............................................................................................................44

PROGRAMME ACTIVITIES........................45
COOPERATIVE SECURITY ENVIRONMENT WITH
A FOCUS ON ARMS CONTROL....................................................................................................45
C-WMD NETWORK..................................................................................................................................64
INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL COOPERATION WITH
A FOCUS ON EUROATLANTIC INTEGRATIONS..............................................................71
SECURITY SECTOR REFORM.........................................................................................................93

THE WAY AHEAD....................................119

RACVIAC IN NUMBERS..........................125
DIRECTORS AND DEPUTY DIRECTORS..............................................................................126
MAG CHAIRPERSONS........................................................................................................................128

CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES...........131
ABBREVIATIONS......................................137
 FOREWORD
Dear Friends,

It is with great pleasure that I address you on the solemn occasion of RACVIAC’s
20th Anniversary.
It has been exactly two decades since a group of nations from the region and
beyond came together with the common knowledge that lasting peace can be at-
tained only if mutual trust and understanding in South East Europe is achieved. With
this in mind they established RACVIAC and made the very idea of dialogue and co-
operation on security matters the core mission of the Centre to be pursued through
a partnership between the countries of the region and their international partners.
Over the years the Centre has managed to be a meaningful contributor to coher-
ence and respect, security reform solutions and confidence and security building. It
has augmented its interaction with other organizations and institutions in the region
and beyond, developed fruitful interaction with the members of the academia, and
maintained continuous dialogue with the civil society and the general public. The
diversity of events that we organize as well as other venues of interaction in the
Centre make RACVIAC a leading platform for regional cooperation and networking
which not only needs to be sustained with the same dedication and professional-
ism but also constantly improved and tailored to the needs of RACVIAC respective
Members, the SEE countries that with their firm dedication have supported and
continue to support its endeavours. It is our obligation now to maintain what has
been achieved and to make sure that all of our efforts are focused towards doing
more and being better for the benefit of RACVIAC Members.
Although RACVIAC achievements are impressive there are a lot of projects ahead
of us. In a rapidly changing security environment it is of primary importance that
RACVIAC continues to transform and adapt itself to meet these new challenges.
In a constantly changing world, the only way to maintain the edge is to change
yourself accordingly.
I consider it my obligation to emphasize once again that RACVIAC, as a success-
ful project of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Croatia, es-
tablished within the Stability Pact, owes a particular debt of gratitude primarily
to the Member countries whose continuous efforts, uninterrupted assistance and
commitment to fulfilling our mission in the past twenty years has also secured the
long-lasting future of this joint endeavour.

9
In addition, I would like to take this opportunity to express my genuine appreciation
to all Associate Members, Observers, and Participants for the outstanding and very
considerable ongoing support, thus adding their contribution to the security and
stability of SEE region.
I would also like to thank all our regional and international partners, who have signif-
icantly assisted us in the organization and execution of our programme of activities,
thereby enabling us to address more effectively the diverse security challenges.
Furthermore, I wish to thank all my predecessors and all of RACVIAC staff who
have worked for the Centre during our last twenty years, for their commitment to
the achievement of our mission of fostering dialogue and cooperation on security
matters in South East Europe.
And last but not least, I would like to express my sincere acknowledgement to all
the lecturers and participants of our activities. Without your expertise and desire for
knowledge and cooperation, our everyday work would be futile. Therefore, it is on
behalf of RACVIAC staff and my own that I say that we look forward to continuing
and further intensifying our joint cooperation.
It is needless to say that the 20th anniversary of RACVIAC and the achievements we
have jointly made in our past twenty years are justifiable causes for celebration for
all those that have invested themselves and their resources in our mutual mission:
In the region – for the region.

Major General (ret.) Jeronim Bazo

RACVIAC Director

10
Dear Readers,

It is my great honour to address you, as the Chairman of the RACVIAC’s Multinational

Advisory Group, on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of this remarkably important
regional Centre that gathers not only South-Eastern European countries but also
numerous international entities from all over the world that support strengthening
dialogue and security cooperation in this part of Europe. As result of the clear vision
and determined joint endeavours of the members, associate members, observers
and international partners, for almost two decades RACVIAC has been successfully
contributing to the development and strengthening of security relations in South-
Eastern Europe, based on mutual trust and understanding.
Founders of RACVIAC, the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Germany
recognized in 2000 the importance of joining potentials and capacities with a view
to improving mechanisms for arms control in South-Eastern Europe. However, in
accordance with the political transformation of the region and urge to respond to
newly emerging security challenges, the main mission of RACVIAC was refocused,
demonstrating ability and willingness of the Centre to adapt to the changing secu-
rity environment. Therefore, the permanently evolving action agenda of the Centre
included various areas: from support to the implementation of the arms control
agreements, promotion of security sector reforms, boosting regional cooperation
in domains of fight against terrorism, proliferation of the weapons of mass de-
struction, weapons smuggling, organized crime and all forms of human and drug
trafficking. Many projects, successfully implemented under the auspices of RACVIAC,
have been developed in accordance with the needs of South-Eastern Europe region
and enabled improvement of national defence capacities and capabilities, reaching
interoperability and building trust among countries of the region.
I am especially proud that in 2010 Montenegro hosted signing ceremony of the
new Agreement on RACVIAC, constituting Centre for Regional Cooperation as a
unique regional organization which provides security and stability of the region,
through enhancing good neighbourly relations and searching for modalities of joint
response to contemporary security challenges. These were the instruments of cru-
cial importance for further progress of our region towards democratic, secure and
stable part of Europe.
Health, economic, political and security challenges created by pandemic that struck
the whole mankind in 2020, serve as acute reminder of the importance of enhanc-
ing mutual solidarity, integrated action and collective approach to joint threats. Even
in this complex situation, RACVIAC has shown commending flexibility and capacity
to adapt to the new circumstances, in order to enable the implementation of the
activities from its Annual Programme.
Invaluable experiences from the 20 fruitful years of RACVIAC as well as ever chang-
ing security environment remind us that good neighbourly relations, close political
11
and defence cooperation and the exchange of expertise and lessons learned must
be an imperative for the SEE countries in the years to come.
Therefore, I truly believe that through the joint commitments and efforts we must
continue to support fundamental goals and cooperation agenda of RACVIAC in
order to further improve our defence capacities which are of the vital importance
for preserving credibility, stability and prosperity of our region.

Major General Rajko Pešić

Chairman of RACVIAC Multinational Advisory Group/
Defence Policy and Planning Director, MoD ME

12
Dear readers,

It is a special privilege to address you on the remarkable occasion of the twentieth

anniversary of RACVIAC - Centre for Security Cooperation. The privilege is that much
greater for I am addressing you not only on my own behalf, but also on behalf of all
those who have contributed in the past twenty years to the efforts of the Centre
in meeting the expectations of the founding fathers.
RACVIAC is a unique international organization – a project owned by the region and
working for the region. Making an assessment of its past efforts and results and eval-
uating its achievements, we can proudly state that RACVIAC, supported by its partner
organizations and institutions, has made an outstanding contribution to enhancing
permanent and sincere security cooperation among the SEE countries and to reach-
ing long-lasting peace and prosperity, regardless of individual aspirations toward the
Euro-Atlantic integration.
Let us remind ourselves that back in 1999 a far reaching decision was made
regarding the future of the SEE region. Only one year later, in October 2000,
RACVIAC’s first moves were made. The newly unified Federal Republic of
Germany stepped forward by establishing, on a bilateral basis with the Republic
of Croatia as a host country, the nucleus for what became the Regional Arms
Control and Verification Implementation Assistance Centre for the SEE region.
This initial and decisive step was subsequently followed by the Republic of
Italy and the Republic of Turkey. Later on other European countries joined the
Agreement.
All this was a part of a far reaching decision of the international community regard-
ing the prevention of the continuation of terrible conflicts, with a view to ensuring a
substantial stabilization of the region. In a comprehensive and coherent approach,
a distinctive emphasis was laid on the efforts of systematic and considerable sup-
port to the security of South East Europe with the active participation of the men-
tioned region. It was RACVIAC that provided the venue and the framework for the
first trainings organized for those who proved to be instrumental in implementing
sensitive international agreements and accords.
Following that successful, and rather quick start, the scope of interest was subse-
quently expanded to issues of military base conversion, security sector reform, and
international cooperation and integration.
The year 2010 has been of historical importance for RACVIAC. The 23rd MAG
Meeting, held on 14 April in Budva, Montenegro, served as the venue for signing of
the new RACVIAC Agreement. The Agreement was signed by eight SEECP countries
and demonstrated the maturity of the region to undertake political commitment
to increasing regional security and cooperation through the concept of regional
ownership.
13
From its earliest beginnings in 2000, RACVIAC - Centre for Security Cooperation has
been continuously serving the needs of the countries of the region. This can best be
seen in the fact that more than 17,000 participants and lecturers have been hosted
in almost 500 activities organised by RACVIAC, a fact we are especially proud of.
After two decades of continuously supporting networking, building bridges, trust and
confidence in the region RACVIAC proudly and righteously declares the readiness to
meet new challenges ahead in the process of fostering dialogue and security coop-
eration in South East Europe and European and Euro-Atlantic integration processes.

Major General Slaven Zdilar (HR)

RACVIAC Deputy Director

14
 HISTORY
At the turn of century, SEE was recovering from the aftermath of wars and turbu-
lent political changes that marked the end of the 20th century. Since the reform
processes were very slow, the affected countries expressed their awareness that
Arms Control, Defence and Security Sector Reform, together with regional and
international integration, represented a crucial aspect of a much wider transfor-
mation process.
RACVIAC (Regional Arms Control and Verification Implementation Assistance Centre)
began as a project under Working Table 3 (Security Issues) of the Stability Pact
for South Eastern Europe that aimed to help create a climate of confidence and
security throughout South East Europe by enhancing transparency, openness and
predictability in the field of military security, as well as cooperation and a broad
security dialogue among the participating states.
In order to achieve long-lasting peace, stability and prosperity in South East Europe,
the Stability Pact convened in Cologne in June 1999. The first ideas for RACVIAC
emerged at the beginning of the following year while the decision to launch as
soon as possible a “quick-start-project” called RACVIAC was taken at the meeting
of the Stability Pact in Sarajevo on 16 February 2000. In July 2000, Coordinating
First Meeting of the
Conference was held in Berlin when representatives from 18 interested nations met Multinational Advisory
to discuss the way ahead. In the same month the Project Team started to work. Group, 20 September 2000

15
 Croatian Minister of
Defence Jozo Radoš
opens RACVIAC,
20 October 2000

Visit of the Croatian and
German Ministers of Defence,
24 October 2001
The first meeting of the Multinational Advisory Group (MAG), RACVIAC Steering
Body, was held in Zagreb on 20 September 2000 and during that meeting decision
was made to establish the Regional Arms Control Verification and Implementation
Assistance Centre – RACVIAC in order to facilitate full participation of SEE states
in the implementation of arms control agreements, discuss and prepare for imple-
mentation of any future arms control measures and treaties that may become a
possibility or necessity within a multinational framework, and to promote increased
dialogue and cooperation in the region.

16
Its Opening Ceremony was held on 20 October 2000, while the first seminar on
“The Significance of Special Regional Agreements in accordance with Chapter X,
Vienna Document 1999, for the Establishment of Stability in South East Europe”
took place only three days later.
The signing of the German - Croatian Agreement on the establishment of RACVIAC
on 7 March 2001 marked the end of the founding process.
Firmly established under the auspices of the Stability Pact and its goal to encourage
and strengthen security cooperation amongst the countries of South East Europe,
RACVIAC was to be confirmed as a very successful project after a relatively short
period of its existence.
At the beginning RACVIAC provided a platform for cooperation in arms control and
other closely related security matters. In addition, it served as an international forum
for personnel training in all aspects of arms control implementation and verification.
RACVIAC endeavoured to assist the states of the region to participate more effec-
tively in the implementation of existing arms control agreements and confidence Seminar on Modernizing
and security-building measures, allowing common standards to be identified and and Reshaping Armed
therefore leading to improvements in their implementation. Forces in SEE countries,
13-15 October 2003

17

Visit of the Special
Coordinator of the Stability
Pact for South-Eastern
Europe, Erhard Busek,
25 February 2004
A few years later, the arms control regimes and confidence and security-build-
ing measures in the region were well-implemented; new fields such as Chemical
Weapons, certain Conventional Weapons Conventions, Missile Technology Regimes
and the like were recognized and expanded upon by RACVIAC for the benefit of
the SEE states.
However, stability in the region was still fragile. Pressing issues such as the illicit
trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons, military downsizing, improving par-
liamentary oversight over armed forces and control of security forces, enhancing
security dialogue, modernising and reshaping of armed forces, effective border
management and improving the public awareness of security policy and arms con-
trol still remained. They needed thorough efforts. Reform of the security sector was
hampered by ongoing problems in the public administration, leading to the delay or
non-implementation of political or strategic documents and commitments. Thus,
the reform efforts at various levels and in different sectors needed to be consistent
with each other.
In the light of the aforementioned situation, at the MAG meeting in October 2003,
the role of RACVIAC was expanded to Security Sector Reform (SSR).
In the year 2004 RACVIAC was invited by the Stability Pact to contribute to the
development of a comprehensive overview regarding defence conversion and re-
lated issues in SEE. As a result, at the Meeting of the Defence Ministers of South-
East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) in Bucharest on 31 March 2005, the
Declaration regarding Defence Conversion was adopted. According to this decla-
ration, the role of RACVIAC was to serve as a regional Defence Conversion centre.
In order to fulfil the new task, in August 2005 RACVIAC established a new Defence
Conversion Cell and embedded it into its structure thus successfully refocusing its
scope of activities from mainly Arms Control issues to broader politico-military is-
sues of Security Sector Reform in accordance with the current needs and requests
of SEE countries for more thorough defence reforms.
Extract from the Declaration Issued at the Meeting of the Defense
Ministers of South-East European Countries held in Bucharest on 31
March 2005: We agreed on the following measures:”… we request RACVIAC
and international actors to establish three working groups: the first bringing
together national and international experts on resettlement of former mil-
itary personnel; the second composed of experts on the conversion of for-
mer military sites and facilities; the third on restructuring and/or downsizing
redundant military industries into civilian ones.”
RACVIAC, together with other international organisations, has had a major role to
play to assist the countries. The idea of ‘regional ownership’ began to formulate
and regional ownership had to be carried out by assuming regional responsibility.
18
A new momentum could be felt.
Political situation, developments and changes in the security environment in SEE,
as well as the needs of SEE countries urged RACVIAC in 2007 to take a decision
on its future status.
On 27 June 2007, in the framework of the 17th Extraordinary MAG Meeting, the MAG
decided on the Future Status of RACVIAC, adopting the new scope of activities as
well as new name: “Centre for Security Cooperation”.
In synchrony with its new designation and since security now encompassed much
more issues than pure military ones, it was also decided that RACVIAC was going
to be directed by a civilian diplomat aided by expert civilian and military personnel.
Furthermore, more focus was to be put on security sector reform and Euro-Atlantic
integration processes on top of arms control issues as RACVIAC’s primary mission.
Following the October 2007 Strategy Paper, RACVIAC continued its transformation
into the “Centre for Security Cooperation” - a more academic and flexible organ-
ization being capable of satisfying real-time requirements of its members - and
was on the best course to become the premier platform for dialogue on security
cooperation in South East Europe. As the finalization of RACVIAC’s transformation
17th MAG Meeting
process, on 14 April 2010, in Budva, Montenegro, eight SEECP countries signed a
(extraordinary), 27 July 2007

19
 23rd MAG Meeting, Budva,
Montenegro, 14 April 2010
new Agreement on RACVIAC - Centre for Security Cooperation, thus showing their
appreciation for what this organization had hitherto achieved, and at the same time
expressing their commitment to the continued support to it.
The Agreement officially entered into force in December 2011, turning RACVIAC
into a de jure international, regionally owned organization for security cooperation.
The adjusted mission of RACVIAC – Centre for Security Cooperation was to fos-
Signing of the Agreement on
ter dialogue and cooperation on security matters in South East Europe through a
RACVIAC - Centre for Security
partnership between the countries of the region and their international partners.
Cooperation, 14 April 2010

20
Owing to these transformation activities, RACVIAC gained wider recognition and
importance in the SEE region, thereby supporting the stability of the region and
Europe as well.
The following years were very remarkable ones for RACVIAC in many ways. The
regional ownership became visible in the increased level of financial contribution
and the increased number of lecturers and participants from the countries of South
East Europe confirming the international status of the Centre. It was also the time
when a series of successful, innovative events and projects such as the ESDP/
CSDP TAIEX, “Defence Conversion Modalities in South East Europe (SEE) – Specific
Regional Model” and “Building a Cyber Resilient Society in SEE” were developed.
Over the next few years RACVIAC has flourished into an internationally known, rec-
ognised and overall present entity that is now a wanted and respected partner for
many regional and international institutions, adapting to an ever-changing area of
security threats both worldwide and in the SEE region.
In continuation of the engagement of RACVIAC in the area of CBRN threats, the
C-WMD Network project was launched in 2015, in cooperation with DTRA (Defence
Threat Reduction Agency) and the Republic of Croatia, with the aim of facilitating Visit of Croatian President
the development or refinement of countering WMD national strategies and action Stjepan Mesić,
plans with willing SEE countries. 12 January 2010

The Centre continued to increase its efforts in fostering security dialogue and co-
operation in SEE by focusing on enhancing cooperation and building capacities,
especially in the areas of Arms Control, countering proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction, countering terrorism, cyber security, foreign terrorist fighters,
border security and management, and security sector transformation, including

Croatian President
Ivo Josipović attends
Ambassadorial Meeting
organized by RACVIAC,
18 March 2013

21
Conference on Security
Challenges for Europe,
22-24 November 2017

the integration of gender perspective, reflecting in this way the priorities on the
international agenda and contributing to their implementation.
RACVIAC, as have most organizations throughout the SEE region – has been work-
ing within a constantly changing security context, which consequently requires dif-
ferent approaches and solutions. From the original mission of stabilizing the SEE
region, RACVIAC subsequently had to expand its efforts and cooperation processes
to a broad spectrum of security issues, while currently the Euro-Atlantic integration
poses the most important challenge ahead of some of our member countries.
RACVIAC has proven to have the ability to deepen and extend professional experi-
ences by cultivating trust, transparency, credibility, networking and building capacity.
RACVIAC is also continuously increasing its cooperation with other international
and regional organizations and institutions that are also contributing to the stability
and security in SEE.
We may conclude that RACVIAC - Centre for Security Cooperation has a bright per-
spective as the premier platform for dialogue on security cooperation in SEE, having
been tailored for the needs of a region which was, and still is undergoing dynamic
security changes. Our proactive approach has always enabled us to adequately re-
spond to the needs of beneficiaries and transformed political and security situation,
a fact which gives us the right to assure you that RACVIAC will continue to sustain
its excellent organizational capabilities developed over the years and serve the best
interests of SEE countries in the future as well.

22
 RACVIAC TODAY
RACVIAC - Centre for Security Cooperation is an international, independ-
ent, regionally owned organization, with a status of a diplomatic mission.
It is the only international organization seated in the Republic of Croatia.
Tailored for the needs of the region and situated in the region, RACVIAC
perfectly embodies the expression “regional ownership”:
• in the region (SEE) - for the region (SEECP),
• Chairman of the MAG comes from the region,
• led by a Director - since 2007 a civilian diplomat - from the
region,
Ambassador Nedžad
• Deputy Director always comes from the Republic of Croatia as the Host
Hadžimusić (BA) was first
Nation, civilian diplomat appointed
• operating part of the budget raised by the region, and as director of RACVIAC
• staff predominantly from the region.

In the region / by the region / for the region!

MISSION
The mission of RACVIAC is to foster dialogue and cooperation on security matters
in South Eastern Europe through a partnership between the countries of the region
and their international partners.
RACVIAC accomplishes this mission primarily by promoting:
• mutual understanding and building of bridges by providing an independent and
impartial platform for dialogue on critical issues related to peace and security;
• continuous security dialogue and permanent adaptation of Security Sector
Reform solutions;
• arms control treaties, agreements and Arms Control Policies aimed at con-
fidence and security building;
• European and Euro-Atlantic integration processes including confidence and
security building measures;

23
Inaugural Meeting with • effective interaction and harmonization with international, regional and
Croatian President Ms sub-regional organizations and institutions;
Kolinda Grabar Kitarović,
• enlargement of cooperation with the RCC and other regional initiatives as
11 April 2019
(Photo: Office of the well as the academia and other relevant stakeholders;
President) • enhancement of dialogue with the civil society, the academia and opinion
leaders;
• implementation of the practice of corporate governance; and
• cooperation within the SEE area to avoid new divisions, narrow disparities
between and within the countries and achieve sustainable results.
RACVIAC prime objectives are characterized by principles of: Reliability and
Accountability, Openness and Transparency, Impartiality and Credibility,
Responsibility and Trust, Adaptability and Integrity, Flexibility and Development,
Professionalism and Predictability.
RACVIAC Strategic Objectives are:
• to enhance the established overall cooperation and security in the region;
• to capitalize on the progress and achievements made so far;
24
 Visit of Dr Erhard Busek,
Special Coordinator of the
Stablity pact for South East
Europe, 23 February 2004

• to endow the Centre with sufficient resources and capacities as well as

flexibility and credibility to address all imaginable emerging challenges and
security threats;
• to promote Security Sector Reform solutions and encourage regional coop-
eration and harmonization;
• to continue fostering trust and contemporary development as a veritable
regional forum for cooperation and dialogue, especially on Arms Control
Treaties and agreements;
• to enhance regional European and Euro-Atlantic integration processes; Visit of the Romanian
Minister of Defence,
• to promote the European Common Security and Defence Policy and its re- Mr Teodor Melescanu,
lation to NATO’s Strategic Concept; 24 July 2007
• to seek harmonisation and synergy with
organizations, institutions and initiatives
of SEE and expanding the RACVIAC coop-
eration network internationally; and
• to enhance the development of national
security strategies through regional secu-
rity cooperation and effective interaction
to sustainably counter emerging security
challenges, e.g., cyber security and other
forms of transnational threats like terror-
ism, proliferation of weapons of mass de-
struction, trafficking, organised crime, bor-
der security and management and climate
change, while particular attention is paid
to all emerging security threats deriving
therefrom.
25
 Visit of Minsiter of Defence of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ms Marina
Pendeš, 25 September 2009

Visit of Austrian Minister of

Defence, Mr Norbert Darabos,
16 September 2010

Visit of Mr Thierry Pelletier,

Senior Nuclear Security
Officer, IAEA, 17 Junary 2017

26
 Members’ flags

RACVIAC MEMBERS
There are currently 30 nations involved in RACVIAC and divided into:
Members - 9 countries of the SEECP - Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia,
Greece, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Turkey.
Associate Members - 14 European countries wishing to support and contribute to
security dialogue and cooperation in SEE - Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark,
France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Slovenia, Spain,
Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Observers - other countries, institutions or organizations, which may participate in
RACVIAC activities as Observers after approval by the MAG - Canada, Moldova,
Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine and the USA.
Since October 2014, Kosovo* participates on a permanent basis, at all levels and
on equal terms in all activities and meetings of RACVIAC & the MAG.
In addition, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Latvia, Ukraine, and others have
expressed their interest in RACVIAC’s work.

27
Ambassdorial Meeting,
24 March 2008

National senior officials from SEE

speak about security challenges,
Conference on Security
Challenges for Europe,
22-24 November 2017

28
RACVIAC’S STEERING GROUP
RACVIAC is accountable to its political decision making body, the Multinational
Advisory Group (MAG).
The MAG, as the steering committee for RACVIAC, is composed of representatives
from Members, Associate Members and Observers. The MAG provides direction to
ensure the operation and development of RACVIAC, in accordance with the guide-
lines, principles and decisions adopted.
The Members and the Associate Members participate on an equal footing in the
discussions of the MAG, which takes its decisions on the basis of consensus of
Members only.
The MAG meets twice a year. The Spring Meeting is usually held in one of the
Member countries.
Group photo of the 42nd
The Chairperson of the MAG is elected by the MAG Members for a period of one year. MAG Meeting, held in
October 2019 during the
Over the past 20 years, 43 regular and extraordinary MAG meetings have been held.
Greek Chairmanship

29
 MAG MEETINGS

30
31
 RACVIAC STRUCTURE / PERSONNEL
According to its current structure RACVIAC has 40 posts all together.
The Director comes from a Member state. He/she is elected for a period of three
years. Since 2007 it is a civilian diplomat and responsible for the overall management
of the organization reporting to the Multinational Advisory Group.
The Deputy Director always comes from Croatia, the host nation.

Structure

Change of Command Ceremony, Change of Command Ceremony,

26 September 2002 29 September 2004

32
MG Stergios Papotis’ Welcome Party, Handover Ceremony,
27 October 2004 11 October 2007

Handover Ceremony, Handover Ceremony,

15 October 2009 12 October 2012

Handover Ceremony, Handover Ceremony,

22 October 2015 18 October 2018

33
 First RACVIAC Team,
11 October 2000

The three Pillars, responsible for organising all RACVIAC activities and carrying out
the annual programme, represent the core units of RACVIAC:
• Cooperative Security Environment with the focus on Arms Control
◦ (C-WMD Network)
• Security Sector Reform
• International and Regional Cooperation with a focus on Euro-Atlantic
Integrations.
At the moment, there are 26 persons altogether at RACVIAC: 18 seconded staff
members and 8 locally recruited auxiliary personnel. Seconded personnel is current-
ly coming from: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, North
RACVIAC staff members,
15 September 2020
Macedonia, Turkey and Kosovo*.

34
PILLARS
The Cooperative Security Environment with a focus on Arms Control (CSE)
Pillar is one of the RACVIAC domains with the longest tradition. Arms Control im-
plementation obligations triggered the foundation of the Centre in 2000, and even
after the transformation into the “Centre for Security Cooperation”, the obligations
and demands of the many Arms Control regimes in place continue characterizing
and dominating all activities of this Pillar.

Dayton Article IV Course, Bosnia and Open Skies Treaty Aerial Observation
Herzegovina, 20-31 March 2006 Course, Croatia, 26 June -5 July 2007

Open Skies Treaty Aerial Observation Course, Croatia, 26 June -5 July 2007

35
 CSE Pillar represents a unique, veritable regional forum for
cooperation and dialogue on a variety of Arms Control topics.
For two decades this Pillar has been focusing exclusively on
Arms Control issues, such as:
• Arms Control treaties and agreements,
• implications and the role of Arms Control policy aimed
at confidence and security building,
• regional aspects of Arms Control in SEE, and
• non-proliferation.
The identified spectrum of regional needs in the said domain
ranges from mere training inspections and training of train-
ers for the implementation of legally and politically binding
Arms Control treaties, to identifying possible contributions of
the most relevant, well-functioning Arms Control regimes to
regional stabilization for example crisis situations.

Aerial Observation Course,

20-30 October 2003 An additional element to the CSE Pillar is the C-WMD Network which has been
formed at the request of the RACVIAC members in 2015 and is intended to act as
facilitator for the development or refinement of national strategies/plans as well
as for enhancing cooperation in this field among SEE countries.

The Security Sector Reform (SSR) Pillar represents the Centre’s approach to the
necessity of permanent adaptation of solutions in the security sector to new secu-
rity challenges, which is at the same time the main characteristic of the scope of
activities in this specific Programme domain.

11th Meeting of the C-WMD

Network, 5-7 February 2019

36
The main efforts of SSR Pillar are focused on the needs of the countries in the re-
gion by putting in place the mechanisms and systems for an effective, accountable
and civilian-controlled security sector. Currently the SSR Pillar focuses on:
• human rights and gender equality,
• parliamentary oversight of the security sector,
• crisis management,
• human resources management, and
• security challenges for Europe.

Gender Training of the Trainers

Course, 15-26 May 2017

Meeting of the Representatives

of Defence and Security
Committees from SEE
Parliaments, Skopje, North
Macedonia, 24-26 June 2018

37
Mr Petro Koci, Deputy Minister
of Defence of Albania speaks
at the opening of Foreign
Terrorist Fighters Workshop,
Tirana, 12-14 November 2018

The International and Regional Cooperation with a focus on Euro-Atlantic

Integration (IRC) Pillar focuses its scope of activities from mainly regional securi-
ty cooperation issues to broader politico-military issues of Euro-Atlantic integration.
The IRC Pillar’s activities revolve around subjects dealing with the SEE countries’
efforts in their Euro-Atlantic and EU integration processes, as the main driving force
behind their reforms and development. The Pillar’s main objective in these activi-
ties is to emphasize the need for ever-closer cooperation at regional and broader
international levels.

Mr Gündüz Şengül, Director

General, Ministry of
Transport, Maritime Affairs
and Communications of
Turkey, Cyber Security
Training Course, Antalya,
25-28 October 2017

38
 Group Photo Cyber Security
Therefore, this Pillar addresses the most critical security issues on the complex and Training Course held in Antalya
changing international agenda in a comprehensive manner with the final aim to on 25-28 October 2017
raise capacity, create a common understanding and strengthen cooperation and
Euro-Atlantic integrations of the SEE aspiring countries. Its main activities focus
on emerging security challenges such as:
• organized crime,
• cyber security,
• building integrity and fighting corruption,
• energy security, and
• foreign terrorist fighters.

39
FINANCIAL POLICY
Major share of the operating cost for the first three years was borne by the Federal
Republic of Germany. From 2003 to 2008, most of MAG nations contributed to
RACVIAC budget on a voluntary basis. However, starting from 2008 financial policy
has been changed. Nowadays, the Centre and its activities are financed from:
• annual Member contributions,
• voluntary Associate Member contributions, and
• other contributions from members and partners.
Members are covering “running costs” of RACVIAC and a portion of programme
activities, while Associate Members provide funds required to execute RACVIAC
activities.
Croatia, as a host nation, provides free of charge working premises for RACVIAC and
defrays costs of utilities/service fees, approximately 125,000.00 EUR a year.
In addition, there are also some international partners, organizations and donor
countries that are supporting certain projects.
It should be underlined that Hungary has been supporting financially Vienna
Document 2011 Courses and Open Skies Courses since the very beginning, al-
though it is not providing financial resources directly to our budget.
It is worth mentioning that Bulgaria and Moldova were also RACVIAC members until
2010 and also financially contributed to RACVIAC up to then.

40
CO-OPERATION AND PARTNERSHIPS
RACVIAC co-operates with and supports a number of international and regional,
governmental and non-governmental organisations and institutions that are also
working to enhance stability and security in the SEE. To name some of them -
strong links have been established with the UN, NATO, EU, OSCE, DCAF, GCMC,
OPCW, UNDP, RCC, RAI, UNDP SEEESAC, DTRA, USEUCOM, ESDC, KAS, MARRI and
others. If extensive cooperation is required, RACVIAC signs specific MoU with some
of these organizations.
Most of these organizations have proved to be longstanding and reliable partners
who work with RACVIAC either on specific projects and activities or support it con-
tinuously financially or with their expertise.
Strong links have been established with the national authorities (MoD, MFA, MoI etc.)
of all SEE countries, which is vital to assist RACVIAC in responding to the real needs
and requirements of the SEE nations. RACVIAC strives not to compete with or dupli-
cate the work of other security organizations but rather to seek close cooperation.

Partner organizations

41
 VISITS TO RACVIAC

42
43
 LOCATION AND FACILITIES
RACVIAC is located in the Republic of Croatia, at the “Vitez
Damir Martić” Barracks in Rakitje, 10 kilometres west of
Zagreb. RACVIAC shares the barracks with the International
Military Operations Centre “Josip Briški” of the Croatian
Armed Forces.
The facilities include two newly renovated seminar rooms
capable of holding up 50 participants each, including simul-
taneous translation equipment.
RACVIAC also provides high standard accommodation for up
to 30 participants in hostel “Rakitje”, which includes meals in
the restaurant and the use of a gym and the Officers’ Club
“Barbara”.
HQ Building

Seminar room Seminar room

Restaurant “Barbara” Club

44
 PROGRAMME
ACTIVITIES
COOPERATIVE SECURITY ENVIRONMENT
WITH A FOCUS ON ARMS CONTROL
The history of the Cooperative Security Environment with a Focus on Arms Control
(CSE) Pillar and that of RACVIAC can be regarded as being the same/parallel in the
initial years.
From the very beginnings of the organisation the intention has been that RACVIAC
would promote dialogue and cooperation in order to improve the standards of
implementation of arms control agreements and confidence and security building
measures as well as to contemplate and prepare for participation in and implemen-
Dayton Article IV Orientation
tation of any future arms control measures and agreements that may become a
Course, Bjelovar, Croatia,
possibility or necessity within a multinational framework. 28 May -1 June 2012

45
Vienna Document Verification
and Compliance Course,
Hungary, 9-13 September 2019
Dayton Peace Accords logo
As the focus of the Organisation was solely on arms control at the beginning, there
were several annual activities devoted to each arms control field, such as disarma-
ment, physical security and stockpile management, non-proliferation, confidence
and security building measures and so on. In that way, the activities could concen-
trate on very particular aspects of the arms control process.
Over two decades, RACVIAC has facilitated the full and accurate implementation by
the region’s states of existing arms control agreements, allowing common stand-
ards to be identified and leading towards improvements in implementation. As a
very unique regional training establishment, at the beginning also the only one that
was focusing on arms control issues exclusively, it aimed to facilitate professional
knowledge, practical guidelines and new experiences reached through active par-
ticipation of most important arms control actors and experts not only from the
region but wider.
During the past 20 years CSE Pillar planned and executed numerous seminars,
courses, workshops and trainings, which were closely related to currently imple-
mented Arms Control Treaties / Agreements paying a special attention to the
specific needs of the SEE countries.
One of the most significant RACVIAC training activities is the “Agreement on Sub-
Regional Arms Control – Dayton Article IV Orientation Course”, as it directly con-
tributes to regional stability, transparency and building of trust.
The purpose of the Course is to prepare designated individuals, military officers
from Dayton Agreement Signatory Parties, to perform duties as Inspectors and /
46
or Escorts in accordance with the Dayton Agreement Art IV and also to establish
a common approach to the Agreement in order to ensure mutual confidence and
transparency during the performance of the said duties.
The first Dayton Article IV Course took place only a few months after RACVIAC had
been founded, namely in March 2001.
The same year, in addition to this Course, RACVIAC organised a number of addi-
tional meetings in the form of “expert talks”, related to the Articles II, IV and V of
the Agreement.
It is important to underline that from 2001 till 2004 RACVIAC was organizing two
to three Dayton Article IV Orientation Courses per year, as requested by the OSCE
Personal Representative of the Chairman-in-Office for Article IV, Annex 1-B of the
General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, thus fulfilling

Practical part of the Dayton Article IV Orientation Course Dayton Article IV Orientation Course, Gašinci barracks,
held in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 28 – 31 March 2006 Croatia, 5-15 May 2009

Dayton Article IV Orientation Course - preparation of the Dayton Article IV Orientation Course, Kiseljak, Bosnia and
inspection in Našice Barracks, Croatia, 4-15 May 2017 Herzegovina, 4-9 March 2018

47

RACVIAC Director receives
OSCE award for the
RACVIAC contribution to
Dayton Art. IV, 16 June 2016
the needs of the signatory parties as well as promoting co-
operation and good neighbourly relations in the region.
Starting from 2002 henceforward, each year, the practical
part of the Course, training inspection on a declared site, has
been conducted in one of the signatory states, thus contrib-
uting to more efficient implementation of the Agreement but
also to a better integration of RACVIAC in the area.
Although at the beginning the Dayton Agreement related ac-
tivities were also organized by NATO School Oberammergau,
it was decided that RACVIAC and NATO would invite each
other to their courses. In that regard two Courses were run
jointly by RACVIAC and NATO School in 2003 but since than
till 2015 RACVIAC was conducting Dayton courses in cooperation with the OSCE,
primarily for SEE region and for OSCE members from outside the region.
Major changes regarding the Dayton Article IV took place in December 2014: Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia assumed full responsibility for re-
gional stability and arms control, essential for building peace and stability in the
Western Balkans, with senior politicians from the four countries signing the relevant
document during the 21st OSCE Ministerial Council in Basel.
In 2016 RACVIAC was presented an award on behalf of OSCE for its valuable con-
tribution to the implementation of the Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control.
As the only organization providing training with a practical part for future
Sub-Regional Arms Control inspectors RACVIAC has conducted 24 Dayton
Article IV Orientation Courses and trained more than 500 military officers
over the last 20 years which confirms good cooperation and transparency
among the signatories and RACVIAC and directly contributes to regional
stability, transparency and building of trust.
Another arms control treaty that is in focus of RACVIAC programme activities is
the Vienna Document 2011 Course.
The first training Course on VD was organized in October 2001. The initial objective
of this Course was to highlight the significance of a mutual, transparent annual
exchange of military information. It also tried to identify ambiguities and unclear
elements as well as establish mutual cooperation in form of annual exchange of
information both in hard copies and in an automated/digitalized way via computers
and the use of the OSCE communications network.
From then on the Course has been organized regularly for the past two decades,
same as Dayton Article IV Course, focusing on enhancing the progress of imple-
mentation of security cooperation as the broader area of Arms Control and CSBMs
48
 Dayton Article IV Orientation
Course, Kraljevo, Serbia,
25-30 March 2019

and on the extension of coordination and experience sharing among countries in the
SEE region with the view of identifying problems and finding possible solutions as
well as exploring the way ahead to encourage regional cooperation and strengthen
cooperative security throughout the region.
In addition, the VD 99/11 course is aimed to present latest experiences on the
hottest issues troubling the region, covering a large scope of issues ranging from
evaluation visits and inspections to training of part-time inspectors.
Already during these initial years, a number of training courses and seminars was
conducted outside of Croatia and hosted by another country from the region. This
cooperation added value to both RACVIAC and the region as well.

Vienna Document Course,

at the Briefing, Slovenia,
1-5 October 2018

49
Vienna Document 2011 Course,
Kecskemet, Hungary,
4-8 April 2011
Over the past 20 years the Vienna Document 2011 Course has been sup-
ported and hosted mostly by Hungary who with the well-preparedness of
the units and experiences of the experts ensured that all participants had
an opportunity to exercise or observe real events within the practical part
of the Course.

With the generous support of its Members and partners, RACVIAC has so far con-
ducted 19 VD 2011 training courses and trained almost 400 military officers.

Vienna Document 2011 Course, Szolnok, Vienna Document 2011 Course, Szolnok,
Hungary, 8 -12 September 2019 Hungary, 8 -12 September 2019

50
 Open Skies Aerial Observation Course,
Croatia, 26 June-05 July 2007

The Open Skies Treaty, developed during the last years of the Cold War as a mech-
anism to increase transparency between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, represents
one of the most important and effective military-political instruments aimed at
building trust and increasing transparency, together with the Vienna Document. The
first Open Skies Areal Observation Course, aimed to train personnel from SEE
countries to plan, organize and execute an Aerial Observation Mission based on the
provisions of the Treaty on Open Skies (OST), thus increasing the administrative
capacity in the field of security cooperation, was held in May 2001. Of course, at
that time, the participating countries had not entered the OS Treaty and this Course
was therefore an initial step to promote the OS Treaty to SEE countries.
As the Course was divided into two parts, theoretical and practical one, it was usu-
ally hosted by different countries, and separated areal observation mission flights
based on the provisions of the Treaty on Open Skies over the various state terri-
tories were performed.
From the early beginning Hungary was providing invaluable support for the Course
by sponsoring and hosting it as well as providing aircraft to carry out Aerial
Observation Missions. Hungary hosted it for the first time already in 2002.
It is worth emphasizing that regional countries, such as Serbia and Montenegro,
although not yet being parties to the OS Treaty, were also hosting the practical part
of the Course in 2003 and benefited from it.
This course provides important means of gaining a greater understanding about
military activities and contributes to a de-escalation of possible crises.

So far RACVIAC has conducted 16 Open Skies training activities and trained
238 junior and senior officers involved in the planning or execution of OST
Missions.

51
Open Skies Treaty Aerial Observation Course, Open Skies Aerial Observation Course,
Jakabszállás, Hungary, 20-28 March 2018 Croatia, 23 February -5 March 2015

Open Skies Treaty Aerial

Observation Course,
Jakabszállás, Hungary,
20-28 March 2018

Directing attention to several arms control treaties and agreements, regional and
international ones, on request and for the benefit of the SEE states, RACVIAC
established initial contacts with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW) in 2003, and opened a new programme year with the Chemical
Weapons Convention Seminar co-organized with the OPCW.
Since 2004 the Chemical Weapons Convention activities have been aimed at pro-
moting the implementation of the CWC in South-Eastern Europe, which directly en-
hances regional stability, transparency and trust. In this way RACVIAC also supports
OPCW in gaining clear understanding of the measures currently in place in different
countries in the region and of the mechanisms deployed by them.
The CWC Workshops aim to discuss relevant issues related to the CWC and provide
a broad overview of the CWC implementation procedures by focusing each year
on different aspects and measures in implementing the Convention and on most
burning questions which may affect the present and the future of the CWC such
as Non-proliferation in the CWC context, Chemical Safety and Security, Chemical
Security Management and others.
52
So far 17 joint events aimed to promote the goals of disarmament,
non-proliferation, peaceful uses of chemicals and full implementation of the
Convention in South-Eastern Europe were organized by RACVIAC and OPCW.
This is an exceptional privilege for RACVIAC having in mind that OPCW has
been awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize for Peace for ‘its extensive efforts to
eliminate chemical weapons’.

Australian Ambassador to Croatia HE Beverly Chemical Weapons Convention Seminar,

Mercer speaks at the opening of Chemical 18-21 March 2013
Weapons Convention Seminar, 28 February 2011

Memorandum of Understanding was signed
between the RACVIAC and the OPCW on 18
March 2014. Deputy Director Brigadier General
Zdravko Jakop signed it for RACVIAC while Director
of International Cooperation and Assistance Mr
Mark Albon signed it for the OPCW
Mr Rohan Perera, Senior Programme Officer in the
International Cooperation Branch, International
Cooperation and Assistance Division, speaks
at Chemical Weapons Convention Workshop
organized with OPCW on 12-14 February 2019

53
 Participants of the Orientation Course on Practical Part of the Orientation Course on
CFE/Adopted CFE, 9-11 November 2004 CFE/Adopted CFE, 3-7 December 2007

The Orientation Course on the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe

(CFE) and the Adapted CFE Treaty was also part of RACVIAC’s arms control efforts
aimed at increasing transparency and co-operation in the subject area and exam-
ining the added value gained by the countries’ possible accession to the adapted
CFE Treaty.
The Course, aimed to provide participants with a comprehensive overview of the
relevant elements of the existing or future arms control documents taken for ex-
amination, and highlighting the most complete and commonly followed rules and
procedures of the execution of real inspections carried out by State Parties of CFE
Treaty, was conducted annually from 2004 to 2008.

Ms Dijana Pleština PhD, Senior Adviser for H.E. Michael Biontino, Head of the Permanent
Mine Action in the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Representation of Germany to the Conference
and European Affairs speaks at the Cluster on Disarmament speaks at RACVIAC Workshop,
Convention Workshop, 21-24 October 2008 12-13 June 2017

54
 Symposium on Mine Action,
23-25 April 2014

With excellent timing – the same year when the Convention on Cluster Munitions
entered into force and became a legally binding international law in 2010 and hav-
ing in mind the SEE countries need to address the humanitarian consequences and
unacceptable harm caused by cluster munitions, RACVIAC started a series of activ-
ities related to Cluster Munitions. The Workshops’ main focus was on assistance,
rehabilitation and reintegration of mine victims. Events that followed addressed
different aspects of demining, technological and managerial challenges.
With a view to encouraging the States Parties to the Convention to fulfil their inter-
national obligations under the Convention and recognizing the need for international
cooperation and assistance, RACVIAC and Government Office for Mine Action of the
Republic of Croatia continued to co-organize several activities on the implemen-
tation of the Convention in South Eastern Europe. The last one was held in 2017.
Another humanitarian disarmament treaty that deserves special attention in the
SEE region is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production
and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, known informally
as the Ottawa Convention.
In order to assist the regional countries in fulfilling their obligations under the
Ottawa Convention RACVIAC, in cooperation with the of the Government of the
Republic of Croatia and the Croatian Mine Centre (CROMAC), has organized sev-
eral events on regional level related to demining processes in Croatia and Bosnia Ottawa Convention Seminar,
and Herzegovina and challenges to the implementation of the Convention, in- 23-26 October 2012 – field
volving civilian and military personnel dealing with the Ottawa Convention in the visit to demining area in Sisak,
region. Croatia

55

Ottawa Convention Seminar, 23-26 October 2012
– field visit to demining area in Sisak, Croatia
The most remarkable Ottawa Convention related event
was organized in October 2017. A two-day international
Conference on the 20th Anniversary of the Anti-Personnel
Mine Ban Convention, titled “From the Ottawa Process to-
wards a Mine Free World”, was organized by RACVIAC in co-
operation with the Office for Mine Action of the Government
of the Republic of Croatia and the Embassy of Canada in the
Republic of Croatia, in order to mark the 20th anniversary of
the Convention, point out the current trends and challenges
in its implementation and see how realistic it is to achieve
the established political goal of a mine-free world by 2025.
Special emphasis was placed on the importance of cooper-
ation between governmental and non-governmental organi-
zations in aiding the mine victims.

Conference on 20th Anniversary of the Anti-personnel Mine Ban Convention: From

Ottawa Process towards a Mine Free World, Zagreb, Croatia, 16-18 October 2017

56
 Participants of the Conference on 20th Anniversary of the Anti-personnel Dr. Lloyd Axworthy speaks at the
Mine Ban Convention: From Ottawa Process towards a Mine Free Conference on 20th Anniversary
World, Zagreb, Croatia, 16-18 October 2017 of the Anti-personnel Mine Ban
Convention: From Ottawa Process
towards a Mine Free World, Zagreb,
Croatia, 16-18 October 2017
A special guest speaker at the Conference was Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, former
Foreign Minister of Canada, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
in 1997 and is credited with enabling the Ottawa Convention to come into
being.

Presently, 162 countries have ratified or acceded to the Ottawa Convention.

It is worth mentioning that all RACVIAC members ratified the Convention.

Additionally, following the fragile stability in the region as well as illicit trafficking of
small arms and light weapons, military downsizing and reshaping of armed forces,
RACVIAC started to put more focus on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW)
related activities, in cooperation with UNDP SEESAC. Joint SEESAC/RACVIAC ac-
tivities focusing on best practices, awareness raising, SALW collection, destruction,
control measures and others were regularly organized from 2003 till 2007, providing
a forum for stocktaking and sharing of experiences and lessons learned by those
who are involved in preventing and combating the illicit manufacturing of and traf-
ficking in firearms and ammunition.
The Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), the safe storage and disposal of
existing surplus and shelf life exceeded stockpiles of weapons and Conventional
57
Physical Security and Stockpile
Ammunition (CA) was still posing significant security hazards and was a matter of
Management Course,
08-12 November 2010
serious concern for the South East European region in 2010. Thus, the Physical
Security and Stockpile Management (PSSM) has remained one of the main areas
where further efforts should be made. International organizations have addressed
this issue in several initiatives aimed at improving the regional situation through
international cooperation and assistance. Joining these efforts, RACVIAC organized
for the first time a PSSM Executive Level Course in November 2010 in cooperation
with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), the Verification Centre of the
Federal Republic of Germany and the authorities of the Republic of Austria.
After this activity, in order to train high-level officials with management responsi-
bility to assess national stockpiles, operational procedures and infrastructure; to
provide ways for potential improvements; to introduce best international practices

PSSM Workshop co-organized

with the Federal Ministry of
Defence and Sports of the
Republic of Austria and the
Bundeswehr Verification Centre
(BwVC) of the Federal Republic
of Germany, 19-20 February 2014

58
 Physical Security and Stockpile
Management Workshop –field
visit, 16-18 March 2015

Physical Security and Stockpile

Management Workshop,
16-18 March 2015:
DOK-ING Ltd Demonstration
site: Use of new technologies
in Unplanned Explosions at
Munitions Sites

in Physical Security and Stockpile Management (PSSM); and to achieve a common

understanding of a comprehensive approach towards a sustainable management
of ammunition, RACVIAC has continued to address this issue regularly.
In order to improve the implementation of its commitments and establish a
more strategic dialogue, in a high-level forum, an event called the Arms Control
Symposium was composed of representatives from various international organi-
zations and national verification centres in 2011.
Its purpose was to open up new perspectives on confidence-building measures
for peace and stability in Europe and bring together all relevant players coming
from the Arms Control family. From its inception, this yearly symposium has striven
to reflect on countries’ political ambition to implement the existing arms control
treaties and to present the latest developments in arms control, and to open new
59
 First Arms Control Symposium,
Tirana, Albania,
22-23 November 2011
H.E. Hans Peter Annen,
German Ambassador to
the Republic of Croatia, Ms
Vesna Batistić-Kos, Assistant
Minister for Multilateral Affairs
and Global Issues at the
Croatian Ministry of Foreign
and European Affairs, and
Major General Michele Torres,
Personal Representative of the
OSCE Chairperson in Office
for Article IV, Annex B-1 of the
Dayton Peace Agreement
with RACVIAC staff members
at the opening of Arms Control
Symposium, 20 November 2012
perspectives on confidence building measures for peace and stability in Europe.
Aimed at assembling national experts to produce a vibrant and productive discus-
sion on AC issues, proposing future developments and tackling possible challenges,
the Symposium has over the years addressed the role of AC in resolving the re-
maining security issues in Europe, the most pressing challenges as well as future
developments and modern force capabilities.
Within its Arms Control portfolio RACVIAC has also organized activities related
to WMD Counter proliferation, Illicit Trafficking in Nuclear and other Radioactive
Materials, Customs Procedures and Licensing Issuance: Integrating the National
Processing of Dual Use Goods and Conventional Weapons, Regional Commodity
Identification Training for Military and Dual-Use Goods, seminars on Effective
Practices of the Implementation of UNSCR 1540 as well as topics focused on
confidence building and exchange of information, such as the Implementation of the
Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security, Military Strategy/Doctrine,
Compilation of the Annual Exchange of Information, Exchange of Information on
60
 Workshop on Customs
Procedures and Licensing
Issuance, 24-27 October 2011

Defence Planning including the Information Exchange on Military Budgets, seminar

on Arms Control in Crisis Situations, and others.
All the conducted activities were also a way of maintaining the viability of arms
control and confidence building actions by enhancing the officers/experts’ theo-
retical and practical knowledge with an impact on political decision makers and
national think tanks.

The English Arms Control Terminology Courses were conducted from 2003
-2010 with the aim to increase the English conversational skills and knowl-
edge of Arms Control Terminology of personnel dealing with arms control in
SEE – more than 280 personnel were trained in 13 courses.

In terms of partners, it should be underlined that from the early beginning RACVIAC has
been cooperating with several partners, inter alia OSCE, NATO School, OPCW, UNODC,

Effective Practices of the

Implementation of the UNSCR
1540, 14-16 September 2017,
co-organized with OSCE and
UNODA

61

RACVIAC regularly attends
Regional Steering Group
Meetings on SALW, photo
from the last Meeting held in
Belgrade on 4 March 2020
ITF, NPA, DTRA, SIPRI, and SEDM. Cooperation was mutually beneficial and essential
particularly between organisations involved in the arms control business and it helped
RACVIAC to prevent duplication and to ensure that efforts are complementary. Close
contact with all RACVIAC Members and Associate members, international and regional
organizations and initiatives as well as with a number of Verification Organizations
helped in better identifying the needs regarding training of verification personnel.
Also, RACVIAC is member of the Steering Committee of the Regional Approach to
Stockpile Reduction of Conventional Weapons and Munition (RASR), an initiative
funded by the European Union. RASR is a long-term, coordinated and regional
approach to addressing threats posed by excess, unstable, loosely secured or oth-
erwise at-risk stockpiles of conventional weapons and munitions in South East
Europe. RASR’s ultimate goal is to contribute to regional security by working to
prevent disastrous explosions and destabilizing diversions of stockpiled conven-
tional weapons and ammunition. Facing the challenge to dispose of extremely
large stockpiles of SALW, it was especially important for the countries of the region
to participate in a coordinated effort in that regard as well as for RACVIAC to be
directly connected with that common endeavour and thereby be able to support
member countries in the optimal way.
The activities’ participants come mainly from regional countries, but also from coun-
tries that already demonstrated being strong collaborators, associate members or
having interest in arms control (like South Korea recently).
62
Over the last two decades RACVIAC’s CSE Pillar has served as a unique regional Dayton Article IV Orientation
Course, Kraljevo, Serbia,
training provider with the aim to provide professional knowledge, practical guide-
26-29 March 2019
lines and new experiences generated through active exchange between arms con-
trol actors. CSE also provided practical and theoretical capacities to national au-
thorities, organisations, working groups, political and administrative structures and
think tanks in the whole wide area of CSBMs framework. By training contemporary
and future leaders and experts to respond effectively to security challenges and
issues of arms control, the CSE Pillar has offered a valuable forum to Members and
Associate Members of RACVIAC in their continuous search for practical solutions
and applicable methods in the field of security building activities.
Nowadays we can say that after 20 years of RACVIAC supporting Arms control
regimes and confidence, the security building measures in the SEE region are well
implemented and that, through its efforts, RACVIAC has strengthened the robust
international community of civilian and military arms control experts.

63

C-WMD Network logo
Developing a National
WMD Counter-proliferation
Strategy - Senior Leadership
Forum, 22 September 2015
C-WMD NETWORK
The Proliferation Security Initiative Table Top Exercise (PSI TTX) held in Zagreb, in
November 2013, revealed a general lack of a legal framework for effective WMD
counter proliferation and consequence management as well as a lack of coordina-
tion and interoperability both among partners and within nations. It was therefore
concluded that success in countering WMD proliferation would invariably be en-
hanced through cooperation at the regional and broader international levels.
By October 2014, the team, formed by representatives from the U.S. European
Command (USEUCOM), the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MFEA) and
the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the Republic of Croatia as a facilitator, had de-
veloped a clear mid-term objectives Roadmap and a general plan for the regional
C-WMD Network project.
The project was formally launched in 2015, as a joint project of U.S. European
Command (USEUCOM), the Republic of Croatia, Defence Threat Reduction Agency
(DTRA) International Counterproliferation Program (ICP), Proliferation Security
Initiative (PSI) and RACVIAC – Centre for Security Cooperation, with the aim of
supporting development or refinement of national strategies/response plans and
enhancing regional cooperation among SEE countries in the field of WMD counter
proliferation.
64
The following SEE countries joined the C-WMD Network: Albania, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo*, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia,
Romania and Serbia, with Croatia as a mentoring nation in the first phase of
the project.

Ambassador Noyes: “Protecting our citizens is the most basic responsibility

of each of our governments. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruc-
tion - weapons that can cause enormous consequences not only to one
nation but to entire regions - is one of the greatest threats facing us today.
Countering this threat requires comprehensive and coordinated national and
international responses”.

The Network’s project first phase was focused on the design, review, and adoption
of national WMD counter-proliferation strategies.
Within the first phase, 12 meetings and workshops focusing on different aspects of
C-WMD were conducted. Each of the meetings sought to discuss issues related to The U.S Ambassador to Croatia,
the development of strategies to counter WMD proliferation such as legal frame- Ms Julieta Valls Noyes attended
the C-WMD Network meeting on
works, international C-WMD obligations, risk assessment process, best practices,
21 September 2016
critical capabilities, interagency cooperation, threats and challenges to border se-
curity, dual-use technology, emergent technologies, terrorism, crisis management

65
Proliferation Security Initiative
and communication, cyber threats and others. Bilateral meetings were also integral
Workshop, 10 April 2018
part of these events, where participating countries had the possibility to engage the
facilitation team and RACVIAC staff directly on their needs and requests related to
their individual strategies or future engagements. The events also contained sev-
eral exercises and TTXs that emphasized the importance of cooperation not only
regionally, but also internationally.
Conforming to project timeline, participating countries were progressing with
development of their strategies and in 2018 the C-WMD Network project en-
tered the national validation and testing phase. The Meeting held in September
2018 signified a recognition that the formal element of strategy development
technical advice had, for the most part, come to an end. It was also a recog-
nition that most of the participating countries were well into the drafting and

C-WMD Network Meeting -

Current Threat Environment and
Cyber Elements of a C-WMD
Strategy, 21-26 January 2018

66
 Opening of the C-WMD Network Meeting, 16-20 12th Meeting of the C-WMD Network – syndicate
September 2018 - DTRA’s Deputy Director Mr David work, 4-6 September 2019
Musgrave, RACVIAC Director Ambassador Haydar Berk
and C-WMD Network Leader Ivana Barbara Blažević

DTRA’s lecturers and experts at the 11th Meeting Mr Andrew Dolan (DTRA expert) speaks at
of the C-WMD Network, 5-7 February 2019 CWMD Network Meeting on 4 September 2019

validation phase of strategy development, including the refinement of Strategy

Action Plans. It initiated the ‘end state’ phase of the Network - the development
and sustainability of C-WMD regional cooperation efforts - which in itself was
an exceedingly important process. Additionally, the September 2018 event was
an opportunity to launch the final phase of the project through identification,
refinement and selection of activities that might be suitable as regional collab-
orative efforts in the future.
The meetings held in 2019 focused on the mechanics, approaches and national
proposals for further regional cooperation. As a result of previous discussions and
persistence of participating nations in sharing best practices, experiences, chal-
lenges and risk assessment, details on the development of RACVIAC information
67
CWMD Network Meeting, sharing on-line Platform were presented, marking the transition from Phase I to
3 February 2020 the Phase II of the project.
This Phase I of the C-WMD Network was an outstanding success by any measure,
by having six (6) countries that adopted a comprehensive national WMD coun-
ter-proliferation strategy and three (3) countries were bringing their national staff-
ing procedure to completion, thus significantly raising the profile of combating
WMD as a facet of national policy.

Six out of nine countries that joined the C-WMD Network have adopted their
national C-WMD strategies and three countries were still finishing their na-
tional staffing procedure, at the end of the Phase I.

It is vital to appreciate that the overall goal of the C-WMD Network has not been
just to create national WMD counter-proliferation strategies, but rather to foster
regional C-WMD cooperation. The development of national strategies to combat
WMD, while exceedingly beneficial in itself, was not the “end game” but rather the
platform upon which realistic cooperation in South East Europe might be achieved.
At the beginning of 2020, the process of strategy development is all but complet-
ed and the achievements are considerable, including the development of policy
based on sound risk assessment, subject-matter awareness, and the shifting and
reallocation of resources to task. The C- WMD Network countries have improved
national interagency cooperation in this area and substantially, information sharing
and interdepartmental command, control, and communication systems.
68
At the outset of Phase II of the C-WMD Network project, a tentative agreement
was reached on the following four areas of cooperation:
• development of a Regional C-WMD Risk Atlas, led by North Macedonia,
• creation of a Common Approach to Bio-Security and the Malicious Use of Life
Sciences, led by Romania,
• establishment of a Regional Dual-Use and Emerging Technologies Hub, led by
Croatia, Montenegro and Kosovo*, and
• Annual Trends Assessment Conference, led by Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Moving forward, all of RACVIAC’s various stakeholders have agreed that there was
a need for a dynamic program structure that takes into account the changing cir-
cumstances in SEE and resultant shift in needs of each participating nation.
In short, C- WMD Network has provided the platform for new efforts at develop-
ing regional WMD counter-proliferation cooperation as originally envisaged in the
project.

The on-line platform RACVIAC Portal has been established as a mechanism

that will further enhance regional cooperation and enable continuous com-
munication and information sharing in the area of C-WMD.

It is worth emphasizing that within the C-WMD Network, besides our permanent
partners such as U.S. European Command (USEUCOM), Defense Threat Reduction
Agency (DTRA) International Counterproliferation Program (ICP) and Proliferation
Security Initiative (PSI), cooperation has been established with various other im-
portant national and international entities such as Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), US Department of Energy and European Space Agency, to mention just a
few of them.

Fifth NSDA Workshop – syndicate work, Fifth NSDA Workshop – syndicate work,
2-6 December 2019 2-6 December 2019
69
Regional Pilot Workshop on
Evaluation of Nuclear Security
Detection Architecture,
2-6 December 2019 – IAEA
experts with RACVIAC Director
at the closing session
Finally, within the Network, and in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) and the Republic of Croatia, C-WMD Network has launched series
of five workshops addressing the Nuclear Security Detection Architecture Awareness,
addressing topics such as nuclear security threats and risks, management sys-
tems, information and human resources and sustainability. The overall goal of the
NSDA series has been to raise awareness and provide nations with the knowledge
and tools to develop, implement and sustain indigenous national-level detection
capabilities, thus also supporting the development of C-WMD National Strategies.
Therefore, we can conclude that C-WMD Network has achieved immense results
in the last five years and thus created credible foundations for the continuation of
the regional WDM counter-proliferation cooperation in the future.
70
INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL
COOPERATION WITH A FOCUS ON
EUROATLANTIC INTEGRATIONS
The International and Regional Cooperation, with a focus on a Euro-Atlantic
Integration Pillar was formally established in 2009, with transformation of the
Dialog and Cooperation Division, which was a part of the RACVIAC structure at the
very beginning.
At that time, the security priorities in the SEE region changed significantly due to Turkish President Suleyman
the new circumstances. The nature of warfare has shifted towards asymmetric Demirel speaks at the Regional
and transnational challenges and threats which are in essence very complex and Security through Regional
intertwined and affect not only one country but the entire region and beyond. Ownership - A new Era of
Therefore, it was of high importance to create effective countermeasures. The Cooperation Conference held
countries’ capacities and capabilities had to be at such a level as to be able to deal under the auspices of South
Eastern Europe Cooperative
with those threats and lead the way in counter efforts. That called for an effective
Process, in Ankara,
and strengthened cooperation between all stakeholders.
09-10 December 2010

71
 The President of the Croatian
National Committee for Tracking the
Negotiations on the Accession of
Croatia to the EU, Vesna Pusić, Ph.D.,
speaks at the seminar “The South-
East Europe’s Path towards the EU
Progress through Reforms and the
Way Ahead, 1-2 December 2010
Croatian State Secretary for
European integration, Andrej
Plenkovic, M.Sc., speaks at
the seminar “The South-East
Europe’s Path Towards the EU
Progress through Reforms and
the Way Ahead,
1-2 December 2010
Namely, new circumstances in the region of South East Europe have conditioned
the need to adapt the Centre at the end of its first decade, not only to present
conditions but also attempts at comprehensively meeting the needs of the coun-
tries in the region, arising from new circumstances, i.e. accession processes to the
European Union or NATO. RACVIAC strove to keep pace with those challenges by
changing its mission and broadening its activities in different security areas.
In keeping with the new circumstances and complementing to the already tradi-
tional activities RACVIAC has been conducting, intensification of cooperation with
other international, regional and sub-regional organizations is now being aimed for
through this area of cooperation within the framework of the Centre, in order to
avoid duplication of activities, achieve synergies and ultimately save funds.
The region of South East Europe has significantly changed its security priorities in
the past few years due to the new circumstances, challenges and varying degrees
of the European and Euro-Atlantic integration achieved by the SEE Countries. The
integration process has always been the main instrument for consolidating peace
and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area by: firstly, encouraging and supporting dem-
ocratic reforms, including the establishment of civilian and democratic control over
military forces; secondly, fostering patterns and practices of cooperation, consul-
tation and consensus-building among members of the Alliance; and finally, by pro-
moting good-neighbourly relations.
However, in the region of South East Europe, the EU and NATO Integration process-
es have not yet been fully completed. There are still substantial challenges on the
path of the Western Balkan countries in completing their accessions, which should
be discussed and built on principles of mutual respect, responsibility and reciprocity.
72
 Seminar “South Eastern Europe
In this regard, and with the reality of the countries from the SEE region not be-
in the Evolution of European
ing in the same integrative stages towards the processes of the EU and NATO Security Structure”,
Enlargement, through its activities the Pillar presents a possibility that the positive 13-14 October 2009
experience of the countries are exchanged through regional cooperation and trans-
ferred to those who are still on their path to Euro-Atlantic integrations.
Thus, already in 2005 RACVIAC, started to address topics related to European
Security and Defence Policy and NATO enlargement processes in order to cre-
ate better understanding of EU and NATO security policies as well as to develop a
positive approach towards the integration. A series of events have been organized
since 2005, providing a successful platform for promoting a common understand-
ing of CSDP in SEE, thus further developing common security culture and efficient
co-operation between the EU and SEE countries.

Mr Hans-Bernhard Weisserth,
Head of ESDP Task Force at the
Policy Unit of the Council of the
European Union and Acting
Head of the European Security
and Defence College (ESDC)
Secretariat delivers a keynote
speech at the Seminar ”South
Eastern Europe in the Evolution
of European Security Structure”
on 13 October 2009

73
 SEE state officials at the Regional
Conference on NATO Integration
in SEE - Developing a Common
Transatlantic Vision and Future
Perspectives, Bitola, North
Macedonia, 30 May -1 June 2010

Defence Ministers Mr Zoran

Konjanovski, North Macedonia,
Mr Arben Imami, Albania,
Mr Branko Vukelić, Croatia,
Ms Ljubica Jelušič, Slovenia,
and Mr Vecdi Gonul, Turkey; One of the most significant activity in this series of events was the Regional
Deputy Ministers of Defence of Conference on NATO Integration in SEE: Developing a Common Transatlantic Vision
Bosnia and Herzegovina and
and Future Perspective, jointly organized with the Ministry of Defence of North
Montenegro, and the State
Macedonia in Bitola from 30 May to 1 June 2010.
Secretary for Defence of Serbia
as panellists at the “Regional The Conference was attended by five Ministers of Defence, two Deputy Ministers
Conference on NATO Integration of Defence and one State Secretary of Defence from the countries of the region,
in SEE - Developing a Common as well as by Ambassadors, Defence Attachés, high-level senior officials and se-
Transatlantic Vision and Future
curity experts - for a single purpose of discussing NATO integration issues from
Perspectives”, Bitola, North
their respective national or expert points of view and exchanging information and
Macedonia, 30 May -1 June 2010

74
 CSDP-EU’s Contribution to the
experiences on the common priorities and challenges regarding NATO integra- Security and Involvement of SEE
tion in South East Europe. It was the biggest high-level activity ever organised Countries Conference, organized
by RACVIAC, which was also a confirmation that each country from the region in cooperation with the Ministry
was dedicated to dialogue and cooperation, and to integration and security of of Defence of North Macedonia
the entire region. and the European Commission
TAIEX instrument, in Skopje, North
Macedonia, 11-13 June 2012
All these activities, as RACVIAC’s efforts in the capacity-building process in
SEE in terms of promoting EU and NATO standards and values and prepar-
ing the countries for their accession, provided a comprehensive framework
for exchanging experience and information on common priorities of EU and
NATO integration in South East Europe.

Besides the abovementioned activities, RACVIAC and the European Commission

Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument (TAIEX) organized a
series of activities hosted by regional countries such as Croatia, North Macedonia,
and Serbia. Those activities, originating from the need and strong desire of SEE
countries to foster and promote the European integration processes, represented an
excellent platform for sharing knowledge on the EU institutional setting, structure
and policies, crisis management and others, allowing the national representatives
75
Workshop on “Guidelines on
Implementation and Evaluation of
Restrictive Measures (Sanctions)
in the Framework of the EU
Common Foreign and Security
Policy”, co-organized with the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia
and Herzegovina and Technical
Assistance and Information
Exchange Instrument (TAIEX),
DG Enlargement, European
Commission, in Sarajevo, Bosnia
and Herzegovina,
27-28 March 2013
to engage in an open discussion and exchange different national and individual best
practice examples and points of view.
A series of activities organized by RACVIAC and the European Commission
Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument (TAIEX) aimed
to support the EU integration processes of SEE countries.
Besides supporting the Euro-Atlantic integration processes of SEE countries
and in cooperation with other international and regional organizations, the IRC
Pillar is directing its activities towards preparing countries in the SEE region to
overcome the emerging security threats and challenges. The main focus is on
cyber security, foreign terrorist fighters, building integrity, search and rescue,
natural disasters, energy security, and all those that are relevant to the security
environment in SEE.
The concept of Cyber S ​​ ecurity has been identified as an area of great importance
for all countries. Even though many steps are being taken on a national, regional
and global level to fight the phenomenon, we are witnesses to a rising level of cy-
bercrimes and costs of prevention thereof. Consequently, cyber security has been
recognized as one of the subjects that should be part of RACVIAC’s curriculum as
the volume of cybercrime is significantly growing, while the general cyber security
is not yet on the sufficient level in South East European region.
The first event in the Cyber Defence area was organized in cooperation with the
United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute in 2007. It was
related to Cybercrime - new threats in Cyber Space and discussed different aspects
of using cyberspace for terrorism and crime activities.
76
Continuing cyber related activities in the following years, RACVIAC has encouraged Participants of the
cooperative end effective efforts in combating diverse cyber threats; built trust and Seminar on “Cybercrime
confidence in information sharing; and exchanged best practice and experience in - New Threats in Cyber
Space”, RACVIAC,
fostering a culture of cyber security in the SEE region.
12-13 December 2007

77
Conference on Computer
Emergency Response Teams,
lecture by Mr Freddy Dezeure
from CERT-EU, 5-8 May 2014
Ms Andrea Dufkova – Expert
in network and information
security, European Union
Agency for Network &
Information Security (ENISA),
speaks at the Conference
on Computer Emergency
Response Teams, 5-8 May 2014
Mr Gorazd Bozic - SI-CERT Team Manager speaks about
European CERT cooperation and Regional Challenges in Incident
Response at the Conference on Computer Emergency Response
Teams, 5-8 May 2014
The most significant step was made in 2014 when the representatives of the Military
Academy „General Mihailo Apostolski“ of North Macedonia, in cooperation with the
representatives of the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and with all the nec-
essary support provided by RACVIAC, prepared the project documentation regarding a
research related to “Cyber security with a focus on South East Europe (SEE region)“ and
delivered it to the NATO - Emerging Security Challenges Division (Science for Peace and
Security Programme). As the main partner in the realization of this project, RACVIAC has
continued providing a platform for regional dialogue and information sharing.
Eventually, after a series of events with the overall idea to enable critical thinking
and an analytical approach while addressing specific cyber topics, a research study
Building a Cyber Resilient Society in SEE was presented in 2016.
The study, that summarized research findings written by SEE countries na-
tional cyber experts, aimed to identify clear cyber security priorities and
responsibilities for implementing effective cyber security activities in SEE
countries and to compare and analyse how respective SEE countries’ social,
organizational (structural) and cultural perspectives and dynamics influenced
social cyber resilience in SEE.
As a result of the research project, basic and advanced training course have been de-
veloped and organized in line with the individual countries’ needs and best practices.
78
 Conference on “Ensuring personal data protection
while securing cyber space (Challenges and
perspectives for the South East European countries)”,
Sarajevo, 29-30 October 2014

Besides the representatives of the RACVIAC Members and the Military

Academy “General Mihailo Apostolski”- Skopje, support was provided by
the SBA Research Centre for Information Security (Republic of Austria).
Several other organizations and institutions such as European
Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA),
American University in Bosnia and Herzegovina, national
Computer Emergency Response Teams, NATO Science for
Peace and Security Programme, and Austrian SBA Research
Centre for Information Security, also provided cyber related
expertise while the Federal Republic of Germany supported
cyber activities financially.
It should be also mentioned that, based on the conclusions from
a series of events organized within the C-WMD Network where
cyber issues were identified as a common modern threat to our
security, RACVIAC, with the academic support of the US Defence
Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has been organizing series of
Cyber Security Courses related to WMD Cyber Crimes Investigations
since 2017, with the aim to instruct nontechnical investigators on
the fundamental skills needed to exploit digital technology to com-
bat criminal activities, the proliferation of the WMD and misuse of Research Study Building a Cyber Resilient
dual-use materials and technologies. Society in SEE, published in 2016

79
 Training Course on WMD
Cyber Crimes Investigations,
23 - 27 April 2018
Towards Achieving a Substantial
Reduction in Disaster Losses
Southeast European Perspective
- demonstration,
17-19 November 2010
In order to build member countries’ capacities in responding to natural disasters
and encourage further development of regional cooperation, RACVIAC has also
been conducting several events related to Search and Rescue operations. Several
training courses, conferences and seminars were organized from 2009 -2013, pre-
paring the ground for additional improvements in the field of Search and Rescue.
Recognizing that intensified cooperation in the area of Search and Rescue is ex-
tremely important for the wider region of South Eastern Europe and as a result
of established cooperation between RACVIAC and the Danish Defence Command,
regional countries signed a SAR Letter of Intent in 2013, aiming at promoting and
strengthening further regional cooperation in
search and rescue. The activities in the stated
area have produced concrete results, especial-
ly in the upgrade and development of national
and regional search and rescue systems.
However, due to the constant need for capac-
ity building and improvements in the fields of
Search, Rescue and Protection, RACVIAC and
National Protection and Rescue Directorate
of the Republic of Croatia have committed to
developing a set of tailor-made activities ad-
dressing relevant issues in this field as part
of wider cooperation in monitoring and im-
plementing civil emergency measures. As a
result of this commitment, a series of basic
and advanced Aeronautical SAR and SAR On-
Scene Coordinator Courses were co-organized
80
 Basic SAR Course - Field visit to Airbase Basic SAR Course - Field visit to Airbase
“Rajlovac”, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina “Rajlovac”, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
23-25 April 2013 23-25 April 2013

Major Ove Urup-Madsen, Head of International
Cooperation, Tactical Air Command Denmark,
delivers a lecture at the Regional Search and
Rescue Basic SAR Course in Sarajevo, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, 23 – 25 April 2013
Visit to Croatian Air Base Lučko as part of the
Regional Search and Rescue Conference,
13 November 2014

from 2017 – 2018 with the expertize provided and certified by the international
Joint Aviation Authorities Training Organization (JAA TO).
The severe floods in 2014 had disastrous consequences with human casualties in
several countries of the South East European region. In the aftermath of the disaster,
the region was facing damages requiring joint efforts from all the affected countries
as well as the assistance of relevant international institutions and organizations.
81
Mr Brian Brophy, SAR expert and a representative of Dragan Lozančić, Ph.D., Director of Croatian National
the Joint Aviation Authorities Training Organization Protection and Rescue Directorate (NPRD), speaks
(JAATO) delivers a lecture at the Search and Rescue: at the opening of the Search and Rescue: On Scene
On Scene Coordinator Course, 1-2 March 2018 Coordinator Course, 1-2 March 2018

Search and Rescue: On Scene Coordinator Course, 01-02 March 2018

82
 H.E. Dr Andreas Wiedenhoff, Ambassador of Austria to the Republic Mr Ludwig Lutz, BSc,
of Croatia, speaks at the Workshop on Floods Protection and representative of the Regional
Prevention Project, 23 October 2018 Government of Lower Austria,
gives welcome address on
behalf of the co-organizer
In 2014 and 2015, in cooperation with its bilateral partners and international or-
of the Workshop on Floods
ganizations, RACVIAC responded by organizing events on flood related topics in Protection and Prevention
Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia. The conclusions from both Project, 23 October 2018
events called for closer and more effective regional collaboration in controlling and
protecting against floods in accordance with the EU Floods Directive.
As an additional effort in that regard and bearing in mind that it is of key impor-
tance to protect against the vulnerability of river flow infrastructure by joint pre-
ventive measures and flood readiness, RACVIAC has organized several events in
cooperation with Austrian authorities in order to present Austrian flood protection
system and introduce the emergency response and disaster relief system of the
Republic of Austria.
The multi-year project on Building Integrity refers to the fact that, in recent years,
the SEE countries have considered the fight against corruption to be one of their
priorities, especially from the perspective of joining wider Euro-Atlantic integrations.
Several efforts and some progress have been made ​​in harmonising anti-corrup-
tion legal framework with European and international standards. New legislation
has been adopted and existing laws amended in order to improve prevention and
repression of corruption. Mainly legal and institutional reforms have resulted in
varying levels of success due to inadequate degrees of political will, insufficient
infrastructure and weak enforcement mechanisms in spite of adequate legislation.
One of the best approaches in the process of reducing corruption is strengthening
good governance by building integrity, increasing transparency, improving accounta-
bility and addressing corruption risks through effective inter-agency (inter-sectorial)
and international cooperation.
83
Prevention of Corruption:
Implementation of Integrity
Plans Workshop, Podgorica,
Montenegro, 5-6 June 2013
Regional Conference “Trends
and Challenges in Implementing
Anti-Corruption Strategies” held
in Skopje, North Macedonia,
24-25 November 2014
In that view, in 2013 RACVIAC started with the activities related to the building in-
tegrity and fighting corruption, together with the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative
(RAI) as its main partner in this specific area.
Building integrity and fight against corruption, especially in defense and
security areas, present some of the common security challenges for all
SEE countries. That is why RACVIAC, in cooperation with the Regional Anti-
corruption Initiative (RAI), has been continuously addressing this issue.
Annual activities have been organized around many important anticorruption topics,
such as the effectiveness of measures to prevent corruption, monitoring and eval-
uation of national anti-corruption policies, corruption risk assessments and action
plans in public institutions and sectors, anti-corruption assessment of legislation,
corruption reporting, whistle-blower protection, risk assessment, institutional integri-
ty, control measures and others. The purpose of those activities has always been to
increase the capacity of the ministries of defence and other
relevant agencies in the field of corruption risk assessment
and integrity as well as to strengthen cooperation between
anti-corruption bodies and ministries of defence. They aimed
also at increasing awareness about anti-corruption mecha-
nisms, tools, and multi-disciplinary approach.
Energy Security, as one of the most important comprehen-
sive challenges for a highly energy dependent society, has to
be considered as a big challenge for Europe as a whole, to-
gether with some other issues like food, water supply, global
warming and pollution of the environment.
84
 Energy Security Seminar - study visit to Energy Security Seminar - presentation at the
Thermal Power Plant Plomin, 20 June 2017 Thermal Power Plant Plomin, 20 June 2017

That is why RACVIAC is giving special attention to the preparation and development
of the project related to Energy Security, taking into account the specific geograph-
ical position of SEE countries as well as their foreign policy repercussions.
In 2015, the IRC Pillar initiated an Energy Security project with Romania as the lead
nation and organized the first seminar in Bucharest. The purpose of this project is
to enable open expert debates on common energy security challenges in the con-
text of the Energy Security Strategy and the Energy Union Strategy Framework in
South East Europe. Thus, several events have been jointly organized by RACVIAC
and its members with the aim of providing a platform for sharing the experiences
Regional Approach to the Energy
at the regional level, clarifying the perception of the concept of energy security in
Security, Bucharest, Romania,
the region and facilitating a common understanding thereof. Additionally, the events
26-27 March 2015

85
Energy Security Seminar: Challenges in the EU’s Energy Security Seminar: Challenges in the EU’s
Neighboring South-Eastern Countries – field visit to Neighboring South-Eastern Countries – field visit to
Hydro Power Plant Čakovec, 6 June 2019 Hydro Power Plant Čakovec, 6 June 2019 (Photo: HEP)

have striven to identify effective policies and encourage inter-state coordination

with a view to reducing specific common energy security vulnerabilities stemming
from resource scarcity, supply predictability and overdependence.
The energy security project has also provided an opportunity for dialogue about
the various aspects of regional energy security. Closer co-operation among the key
players in energy security, involving experts and policy makers, seems to be crucial
for energy stability. Cooperation should be established through joint work, espe-
cially when it comes to implementation of concrete projects. Interactive efforts by
national institutions and international organizations are needed whenever possible.

Energy Security Seminar – field visit to LNG terminal Energy Security Seminar – field visit to LNG terminal
on the Croatian island of Krk, 9 June 2016 on the Croatian island of Krk, 9 June 2016

86
 Energy Security Seminar: Challenges in the EU’s Neighbouring Mario Šiljeg, Ph. D., State
South-Eastern Countries, RACVIAC, 4-7 June 2019 Secretary, Croatian Ministry
of Energy and Environment,
greeting the participants of
All aforementioned events included study visits to some of the national energy plants,
the Energy Security Seminar,
such as Croatian LNG site on the Island of Krk, TP Plomin, and Varaždin Hydroelectric 19 June 2017, said that
Power Plant site as well as Romanian Natural Gas Storage Capacity, located in Mureş “The natural energy market
County. The participants comprised of national representatives of RACVIAC Members, deployment, the energy
representatives of the European Commission, NATO, the European Agency for the infrastructure development
Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), and other energy specialists. and its protection should
be the cornerstone for the
RACVIAC intends to further focus on the main issues that SEE countries are facing energy security. By sharing
in the field of energy security as well as on the concrete solutions and measures to our experiences, problems,
minimize the threats in energy supply in the future. It will be done by putting main plans and efforts to find the
accent on the exchange of information regarding the best practices in the oil and gas adequate answers for the
sector and renewable energy sources as well as best practices in energy efficiency. energy security challenges
we will be one step closer to
Another important topic that RACVIAC has been dealing with over the years is the finding right solutions.”
topic of terrorism. Starting from 2007 seminar, RACVIAC has highlighted the im-
portance and necessity of cooperation in countering terrorism. It has also drawn at-
tention to the international organizational efforts, fostered exchange of information
and opinions and emphasized efforts of regional countries in developing common
regional approach for efficiently countering this global threat.
On several occasions RACVIAC has provided a forum where representatives of
South-East European countries, international, regional and sub-regional organiza-
tions and mechanisms discussed regional trends in addressing the links between
terrorism and organized crime and shared their good practices and challenges in
that regard. The overall aim of this forum has been enhancing regional cooper-
ation in this area thereby improving possibilities of detecting and investigating
87
 suspected terrorists, comparing the advantages and disadvantages of investi-
gating and prosecuting terrorist groups, exploring to which extent the measures
effective in preventing or detecting ordinary crime are also effective in addressing
terrorism and how “terrorism” should be defined in domestic legislation in order to
distinguish it from ordinary crime, discussing practical steps and views aimed at
building antiterrorism capacities, and promoting measures of preventing organized
crime, fighting terrorism and sharing information, views and experiences on the
achievements and future challenges.
The activities were conducted with the support of Counter-Terrorism Committee,
Executive Directorate UN (CTED), the South East European Law Enforcement
Centre (SELEC), the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and RACVIAC member
and partner countries.
The threat to universal peace and security from terrorist organizations has been in-
creasing as more citizens from around the globe have been joining those organizations.
Acknowledging the serious threat posed by Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTF), on 24
September 2014, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted its land-
mark Resolution 2178, the most significant document related to terrorism since 2001.

Being a part of the EU “Western Balkan Counter-Terrorism Initiative”, RACVIAC

has been organizing annual regional conferences related to Foreign Terrorist
Fighters together with its partners, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and
the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, since 2015.
Cooperation against Terrorism
Seminar, 20-21 February 2007

88
 The Links between Terrorism and Organized Crime Workshop jointly RACVIAC Deputy Director BG
organized by RACVIAC, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Zdravko Jakop speaks at the
Directorate (CTED), the Southeast European Law Enforcement Center opening of The Workshop on
(SELEC), Turkish National Police (TNP), Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) the Links between Terrorism and
and International Center for Terrorism and Transnational Crime (UTSAM), in Organized Crime in Antalya,
Antalya, Turkey, 4-5 November 2013 Turkey, 05 November 2013

These conferences, designed as expert forums and focusing on different aspects of

FTF related threat, aim to provide a platform for a regional exchange of views and
experiences in South-Eastern Europe on the implementation of the UN SCR 2178,
in compliance with all obligations under international law, including international
human rights, refugee and humanitarian law, possible solutions and best practices
in border management with a focus on identifying possible FTF on their way to and
from war zones, and finally, on the ways and means of establishing adequate short
and long-term rehabilitation and reintegration programs for those individuals who
had been identified and prosecuted as FTFs.
Additionally, these events also evaluate the existing policies, programs and actors
on national, regional and international levels as well as discuss the challenges in
relation to the role of civil society organizations, religious communities and youth
and education systems in the rehabilitation and reintegration of FTFs and their
family members, especially children, who followed them to or from war zones.
The objectives and special focus of the events organized so far in RACVIAC have
remained the same but the format has been changing over the years, in accordance
with the recommendations of the Annual OSCE-wide Counter-Terrorism Conference
as well as need to implement UNSCR 2178, 2395, 2396 and other related resolu-
tions. Counter-narratives and positive messages, the need for media literacy training
of the youth, bigger focus on FTF prisoners and their family members, integration
of gender perspective, especially the role of mothers, were some of the takeaways
of these events.
89
 Foreign Terrorist Fighters – Challenges for South Eastern Europe Conference, Sarajevo, 6-8 October 2015

RACVIAC Director Ambassador Branimir Mandić at Participants of the Foreign Terrorist Fighters – Challenges
the press conference of Foreign Terrorist Fighters – for South Eastern Europe Conference, Sarajevo, Bosnia
Challenges for South Eastern Europe Conference, and Herzegovina, 6-8 October 2015
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 6-8 October 2015

Through all of these activities, RACVIAC has promoted coherence and synergy
among international and regional organizations and further encouraged trust and
cooperation between governmental and civil society organizations.
To conclude, the focus of the future IRS Pillar activities will be on building capacities
as well as on sharing good experiences and lessons learned to further facilitate the
90
processes of European and Euro-Atlantic accession and integration in those coun-
tries that yet have to achieve them. Furthermore, it will concentrate also on cyber
security, countering violent extremism, terrorism and terrorist threats, border security
and management, migration flows, transnational organized crime, drug trafficking,
human trafficking, energy and environment security as well as other contemporary
and emerging security challenges.
To counter such threats, increased cooperation between all actors is needed, es-
pecially in the fields of law enforcement and intelligence, in which the sharing of
information between countries can help track those threats and prevent any pos-
sible attacks. Also, the Members’ willingness to participate in the European and
Euro-Atlantic integration and accession efforts has to be supported in order to

Prosecution, Detention,
Rehabilitation and Reintegration of
Returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters,
RACVIAC, 27-29 December 2017

Ms Georgia Holmer, Senior Adviser on Anti-Terrorism
Issues (OSCE Department on Trans-National Threats) at
the Workshop „Prosecution, Detention, Rehabilitation
and Reintegration of Returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters“,
RACVIAC, 27-29 December 2017
Mr Vlado Azinović, Professor at the Faculty of Political
Science, University of Sarajevo and an expert for terrorism
and extremism at the Workshop „Prosecution, Detention,
Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Returning Foreign
Terrorist Fighters“, RACVIAC, 27-29 December 2017

91
 Mr Petro Koci, Deputy Minister of
Defence of Albania addresses the
audience at the Foreign Terrorist
Fighters Workshop in Tirana, Albania,
13-14 November 2018

create stability and prosperity based on democracy and the rule of law. Therefore,
RACVIAC will continue to provide support to the SEE countries, advocate dialogue
and trust-building, identify and select relevant, contemporary and interesting topics,
while sparing no effort in deepening the cooperation with other institutions and
organizations. The close regional and wider cooperation among the SEE countries
through dialogue and various forms of coordination is the only response to today’s
security challenges.

92
SECURITY SECTOR REFORM
In 2003, while RACVIAC was successfully carrying out work in Arms Control, it be-
came evident that there was a need to focus on more politically coloured security
issues.
Therefore, RACVIAC programme was enlarged and expanded to security sector
reform issues with the primary aim to create a secure environment conducive to
economic development, good governance, and, in particular, growth of democracy
and democratic institutions based on the rule of law and equal rights. In institu-
tional terms, ultimately, this required the establishment of an efficient civilian and
democratic oversight over the national security actors.

In 2003, RACVIAC programme was expanded to include Security Sector

Reform issues, primarily related to ongoing security and defence reforms in
SEE, efficient democratic control and oversight of armed forces.

Bearing in mind that SEE region was going through a very challenging transition
period, a series of activities on Basics of SSR were initiated in 2003, aimed at
Joint DCAF/RACVIAC Seminar
addressing the importance of SSR and its generally beneficial outcomes, at both
Demobilisation & Retraining in
national and local level. In that regard RACVIAC addressed challenges related to SEE, RACVIAC, 19-21 June 2003

93

At the opening of the Workshop
“Taking Stocks for Military Site
Conversion”, RACVIAC, 27
February -3 March 2006
“STARLINK” Training of Trainers
Course on Security System
Reform for South East Europe,
RACVIAC, 15-18 June 2010
the security and defence reform in SEE, defence acount-
ability, the concept of Consensus, role of the internal audit
and control functions in strategic financial management,
role of international organization within SSR process, and
good governance.
Additionally, in cooperation with the Centre for European
Security Studies (CESS), the Netherlands, three consecu-
tive training courses STARLINK, basic and advanced, were
conducted from 2009 till 2010 in order to build capacities
of national security institutions on better understanding
of democratic governance in SSR as advocated by the
Development Assistance Committee of the Organization
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD DAC).
In order to support efforts of SEE countries to be security
providers beyond the borders of the region, seminars on
SSR in the context of Peace Support Operations with top - down approach were
organized, focusing on the effective provision of security, as one of preconditions
for reforms, reconstruction and development.
Having in mind that ensuring public security and stability whilst upholding demo-
cratic standards constitutes one of the major challenges of democratic processes
in SEE region requireing democratic accountability of the security sector institu-
tions, especially armed forces, one of the first topic addressed through our activities
was Democratic Control of Armed Forces. From then on, Democratic Control of
Armed Forces activities has aimed to establish and increase balance between the
94
 STARLINK Introductory Course on SSR, 16-20 November 2009, Sami Faltas, Ph.D., CESS
co-organized with CESS Executive Director, speaks
at the STARLINK Introductory
armed forces’ “efficiency” and “democracy”, which are crucial to ensuring effective Course on SSR,
government, by focusing on sharing experiences in the control of the security sector 16-20 November 2009
and armed forces’ budget, role of parliaments and civil society and media in the
oversight mechanisms.
The main topic in this series of events was the OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-
Military Aspects of Security and the issues it covered. Its main purpose has been to
raise awareness about the commitments of the States Parties to the OSCE Code
of Conduct and to share experiences and challenges in the practical implementation
of it, in the format of a Peer Review.

Democratic Control of Armed

Forces as Basic Principle for SSR:
Regional Perspective, Sarajevo,
BA, 12-14 June 2012

95

Mr Fabian Grass, Forum for
Security Co-operation Support
Officer, OSCE, delivers a
lecture at the “OSCE Code of
Conduct on Politico-Military
Aspects of Security Seminar”,
17-19 September 2012
OSCE Code of Conduct on
Politico-Military Aspects of
Security: 20 Years Anniversary/
Peer to Peer Conference,
30 September - 3 October 2014
The event series on the OSCE Code of Conduct in South-Eastern Europe,
co-organised and supported by the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre, that
started in 2012, supported the implementation of the CoC values and stand-
ards in the SEE region and beyond, thereby expanding knowledge about its
main purpose.
One of the most prominent activities in this area was a three-day conference on the
“OSCE Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security: 20 Years Anniversary/
Peer Review Conference” held in 2014.
The Conference had a high level opening and commemorative session and a work-
ing part in the format of a Peer Review. In this part, the SEE countries reported on
their implementation of the OSCE CoC, and the Questionnaire was again recog-
nised as an important mechanism for successful governance and defence reform
and protection of human rights in the armed forces in the context of the interna-
tional humanitarian law.
Effective parliamentary oversight has become crucial in ensuring that new respons-
es to security threats are devised and implemented with full transparency and
accountability. Starting from 2009, these activities have been conducted in form
of the Annual Meeting of the Members of Defence and Security Committees of SEE
parliaments, as a very unique regional forum of SEE parliamentarians designed for
comprehensive discussions and sharing of information and experiences on several
topics common in the work of Parliamentary Security Committees in South East
European countries as well as on most pressing regional security challenges such
as floods, migrations, cyber security and the like. At that time various countries had
different systems and models of both democratic control of armed forces and par-
96
 At the beginning, the Meetings
liamentary oversight of the security sector. In other words, there were considerable
were usually held in in the
differences in legislation and institutions involved in these matters throughout SE
Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia
Europe. Parliamentary Defence and/or Security Committees have been established and Herzegovina, gathering not
in all those countries as an institutional tool for overseeing the security sector ac- only parliamentarians but also
tivities, while their efficiency was directly limited by the Committees’ capabilities to representatives of international
work in accordance with the following preconditions: clearly defined constitutional and regional organizations: NATO
and legal basis, customary practices, resources management, expertise and politi- HQ in Sarajevo, OSCE Mission
cal will. Throughout the years the Meetings have addressed several problems and to BA, DCAF, CESS - Centre for
European Security Studies from the
challenges of democratic control such as lack of transparency, inadequate com-
Netherlands, USAID , EUFOR etc. –
munication, complexity, lack of expertise, strong involvement of the executive and
The Conference of Parliamentary
weak involvement of civil society. At the same time they offered recommendations Security Committee Members
on developing legislation for the defence and security sector, advising on defence From South Eastern Europe-
budgets and monitoring expenditures, reviewing government defence policies and Parliamentary Oversight of the
security strategies, consulting on international commitments and treaties ratified Intelligence Services , Sarajevo,
by parliament and monitoring increasing civil-military cooperation. 27-29 June 2010

The Annual Meetings of the Members of Defence and Security Committees of

SEE parliaments are a very unique regional forum of SEE parliamentarians
designed for comprehensive discussions and sharing of information and ex-
periences on several topics common in the work of parliamentary security
committees in SEE.

97
Annual Meeting of the Regional
Parliamentary Defence and
Security Committees 12-14
December 2012, study visit to
the Croatian Parliament

Annual Meeting of the Regional

Parliamentary Defence and
Security Committees 12-14
December 2012, study visit to the
Croatian Parliament

Conference on Parliamentary
Oversight - Annual Meeting
of Regional Parliamentary
Defence and Security
Committees in Croatian
Parliament, 03-04 June 2014

98
 Annual Meeting of the Regional
Parliamentary Defence and Security
Committees 12-14 December 2012,
study visit to the Croatian Parliament

69th Annual Meeting of

Parliamentarians Skopje, MK,
24 -26 June 2018

Part of the activities in Civil-Military Relations programme area is the subject

of public-private partnership in providing security. That is why several activities on
Private (Military) and Security Companies - P(M)SC topics were launched in 2013.
Since then, RACVIAC has been organizing activities aimed to provide broad informa-
tion on the global trends, rapid growth and changing nature of P(M)SC, in coopera-
tion with DCAF as main partner in this area. Additionally, the activities focused on
parliamentary oversight over P(M)SC and main principles and mechanisms thereof,
such as the Montreux Document, the subsequent international Code of Conduct for
Private Security Service Providers and EU Directive on Public Procurement.
99
 Mr Zlatko Gareljić, Defence
Adviser to the President
of the Republic of Croatia
gives presentation on the
democratization of P(M)SCs at the
Private Military Security Companies
Seminar, 28-30 April 2014
International Conference “Private
(Military) and Security Companies
in Critical Infrastructure Protection”,
Zagreb, 18-20 September 2017,
co-organized with Magazin Zaštita
Participants of the Private Military Security Companies
(PMSC) - National Security Sector Seminar, 23-25 April 2013
Some of the activities in this RACVIAC mid-term project focused also on the im-
portance of public-private partnerships for the Protection of Critical Infrastructure,
challenges related to effective security management, possible disruption in critical
infrastructure, cyber dimensions
​​ of critical infrastructure protection and importance
of international cooperation.
The importance of critical infrastructure increases the more industrially de-
veloped a country is and the more dependent it is on the undisturbed func-
tioning of critical infrastructure both on its own and on the territory of other
countries. One of the key actors in strengthening resilience and critical infra-
structure protection are private security companies owing to their knowledge,
experience and resources.
100
 International Conference “Private
(Military) and Security Companies
in Critical Infrastructure Protection”,
Zagreb, 18-20 September 2017, - visit
to the Exhibition on security sector
equipment and services, organized
as the third edition of the ‘Days of
Security and Protection’ at Ban
Jelačić Square in Zagreb

Mr Robert Žunac, Director of ISSB (HR),

Ms Franziska Klopfer, DCAF, Mr Peter
Yapp, Deputy Director of the National
Cyber Security Centre (UK), Ms Anna
Sarri ENISA and Mr Robert Mikac,
Faculty of Political Science, Zagreb,
at the Conference on Public Private
Partnership in Critical Infrastructure
Protection, Zagreb, Croatia,
27 September 2018

Mr Damir Krstičević, Croatian

Defence Minister delivers keynote
speech at the Conference on
Public Private Partnership in Critical
Infrastructure Protection, Zagreb,
Croatia, 27 September 2018

101
 RACVIAC Deputy Director Col
Tomislav Vibovec closes the
Human Resources Management
Workshop, organized in
partnership with Netherlands
Defence College (NDC),
RACVIAC, 23-29 November 2008

Workshop on “Strategic Human

Resources Management”,
6-7 December 2018, co-organized
with FLAME Company

Workshop on “Strategic Human Resources Workshop on “Strategic Human Resources

Management”, 6-7 December 2018 -syndicate work Management”, 6-7 December 2018 -syndicate work

102
The problem of redundant military personnel in SEE countries and the urgency of Participants of the third Meeting
adaptation of the Human Resources Management system as the ultimate pre- of the Working Group on
requisite for successful and comprehensive completion of transformation from Retraining and Resettlement of
Military Personnel,
obligatory into voluntary military service system, or “professionalization”, was rec-
18-22 September 2006
ognized and included into programme curricula as soon as RACVIAC broadened
its focus from mainly arms control issues to security sector reform processes in
2003. The series of organized events, initially with DCAF and with the Netherlands
Defence College (NDC) since 2008, has been a direct answer to the requirements
of the armed forces transformation process in the SEE countries trying to finalize
modernization of their military organizations and finish the process of their own
European and Euro-Atlantic security integration.

8th Workshop on Transition of

Military Personnel, organized in
Cooperation with MoD Bulgaria,
3-5 June 2008

103

Defence Conversion Project
Publication, published in 2012
10th Workshop of WG2 on
Military Base Conversion,
Podgorica, Montenegro,
23-26 June 2009
All those activities have been aimed at increasing the awareness of the importance
of Human Resources Management and different methods and tools needed for
obtaining personnel capable of achieving the objectives of the organization and
ensuring overall business success.
Proper human resources management, demobilization, retraining and resettling
redundant military personnel, was only one part of the overall Defence Resource
Management area.
In 2005, after RACVIAC had successfully refocused its scope of activities from main-
ly Arms Control issues to broader politico-military issues of Security Sector Reform,
the Ministers of Defence of the SEECP issued a special Declaration on cooperation
among the SEE countries and international partners on specific Defence Conversion
related processes as part of the overall Security Sector Reform (SSR), and selected
RACVIAC as the most appropriate institutional platform for the development of re-
gional expert cooperation network. It was underlined that most of the SEE countries
faced similar circumstances and challenges in dealing with the economic and social
impacts of restructuring and downsizing their armed forces that resulted in base
closures, relocation of military units, re-integration of redundant military personnel
and destruction of surplus military equipment and weapons. In this respect, three
Working Groups were established for three respective areas of interest:
• Working Group 1 on Transition of Military Personnel;
• Working Group 2 on Conversion of Former Military Facilities;
• Working Group 3 on Restructuring Redundant Military Industries through
Downsizing or Conversion to Civilian Use.
Surprisingly, the requirement for the third area of activities (military industry restruc-
turing) diminished quite soon. RACVIAC engaged in a very extensive and valuable
research in the remaining two Project Areas for seven years and organized more
than 20 workshops.
104
 Conference on Better Management
of Defence Resources, including
Building Integrity in the Armed Forces,
co-organized with NATO Defence
and Security Economics Directorate,
14-17 September 2009

The crown of that important endeavour was the project entitled “Defence
Conversion Modalities in South-East Europe (SEE) – Specific Regional Model”. This
twofold research project was designed to identify and document existing stand-
ard elements of modern, flexible and efficient defence conversion systems in the
areas of separated military personnel career transition support and military base
conversion. Research results indicated that a unique and common regional model
applicable in any other analogue historical, economic and political environment
(facing similar objectives and challenges) existed.

Defence Conversion project that lasted seven years and organized more than Participants of the
20 workshops, was a very extensive and valuable research project conducted Conference “Financial
in six SEE countries on Transition of Military Personnel and Conversion of Aspects of Economic Crisis
Former Military Facilities. and Their Impact on Security
Sector”, Budva, Montenegro,
7-8 November 2012

105

Mr Philippe Rutz, European
Defence Agency, as a Keynote
speaker at the Seminar on
better defence resources
management: “Pooling and
Sharing of Defence Capabilities
as Smart Defence” 7-8 Dec 2011
Photo 204: “Transition of the
Military Educational Systems
in SEE” workshop, co-
organized with the Croatian
Defence Academy,
4-6 February 2014
The direct result of the Project was the publication - a single source of universal
guidelines, principles, processes and procedures in developing, executing and sus-
taining an effective separated military personnel transition/military base conversion
system, as the result of hard work of experts nominated by the Republic of Albania,
Republic of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Moldova, the Republic
of North Macedonia and the Republic of Serbia to Project Area 1 – Transition of
Military Personnel and Project Area 2 – Military Base Conversion.
It is worth underlining that within the Transition of Military Personnel (WG1) the
implementation of Programme “PERSPEKTIVA” of the Ministry of Defence of Bosnia
and Herzegovina was also supported by providing technical assistance and guide-
lines and publishing the handbook entitled “Guide through Personal Transition”, made
by the WG1 teams.
Simultaneously with the ongoing defence conversion project as the core of defence
resources management activities, the programme scope enlarged in 2009 to in-
clude a few consecutive events. To start, the Conference on “Better Management of
Defence Resources, Including Integrity Building in the Armed Forces”, was co-organized
with NATO Defence and Security Economics Directorate. The Conference subjects
were selected in the context of defence resources management systems facing
significant limitations due to global financial crisis and continuation of transition pro-
cesses. Thus, the Conference primarily discussed extreme conditions of operations,
development of relevant mechanisms of budgeting, control of expenditures and pro-
curement and requirements of continuous improvement and innovation in the field
of management, including process of integrity building within the security systems.
All the activities organized in the field of defence resources management created
perfect benchmark for the instant evaluation of the regional defence resources
management systems by their own proponents. Furthermore, these types of ac-
tivities represented the basis for future cooperation efforts in the field of defence
106
 Transition of the Military
resources management, which was one of the key issues especially in the years
Educational Systems II
of financial crisis. In that regard RACVIAC co-organized several events with NATO Seminar, Maribor, Slovenia,
Planning Division in order to assess the impact of the global economic and financial 11-12 March 2015
crisis on national economies and the challenges that at that time called for a more
relevant mechanism of planning, budgeting and coordination of the procurement
process, discussed procurement and outsourcing challenges, and promoted two
aspects of pooling and sharing, the first one from the perspective of the EU and
the second one from the perspective of NATO Smart Defence Strategy.
As an integral part of Defence Resources Management activities there was also a
series of activities aimed at facilitating the process of modernization and Transition
of Military Education Systems in SEE and their integration into civilian education
systems, supported by the Theresian Military Academy (AT), the National University
of Public Service (HU), the European Security and Defence College (ESDC), the
Croatian Defence Academy, and the University of Zagreb (HR).

Conference “Border
Management Capacity Building:
The Facilitation of Common
and Coordinated Measures in
the Western Balkan Region”,
co-organized with DCAF office
Ljubljana as a part of series of
events, 4-7 February 2013

107
Border Security and
Management: Examination
and Detection at the Border -
Persons, Cargoes and Vehicle
Course, co-organized with
OSCE, 9-13 February 2015
The Border Security and
Management Seminar hosted
by MK Ministry of Defence in
Skopje, 1-3 March 2017
Security Sector Reform incorporates not only measures to make the security and
justice sector more effective - promoting accountability, the rule of law, and the
protection of human rights and civil liberties are also essential components of
SSR. Based on that, since 2003, RACVIAC has been bringing together regional
police experts, police practitioners and experts in the area of Border Security
Management and cross-border police cooperation in order to discuss further im-
provements when it comes to operational results, future needs and developments
in education and training and building of mutual trust among regional security
practitioners. With DCAF, GCMC, OSCE, UNODC and KAS as main partners in this
area, RACVIAC has organized activities aimed at enhancing operational effective-
108
 Workshop on “The Impact
ness by improving prevention and detection of human trafficking and smuggling, of Disaster on the Security
strengthening protection and promotion of human rights, creating more represent- Environment in South Eastern
ative border management institutions and enhancing local ownership, oversight and Europe (SEE) – Regional Efforts,
collaboration. Special focus has also been given to gender perspective in border 3-6 May 2004
management and recently to migration challenges and EU external border regime.
All those activities have been contributing to efficiency of the border management
authorities in SEE and fostering mutual cooperation in mitigating current and po-
tential security threats.

Special focus in the area of Border Security Management was given to gen-
der perspective in border management, and EU external border regime and
migration challenges.

In addition, in order to discuss national and regional issues on Disaster Preparedness

and Prevention in SEE and to deepen contacts between representatives of national,
regional and international organisations, both from civilian and military institu-
tions, RACVIC has been enhancing the Members’ capacities by organizing Disaster
Levant Akin, Ph.D., from Turkish
Management related events. At the beginning, from 2003 till 2005, two activities
Hacettepe Universitesi, Faculty of
per year were conducted thus providing open forums for discussions on accidents,
Medicine, Public Health Institute,
natural disasters, prevention, response planning and security measures in the field at the Seminar titled “Pandemic
of Disaster Preparedness and Prevention, focusing on the shortcomings and needs of Influenza - Affecting Global
of the countries from the region. Security”, co-organized with
Disaster Preparedness and
Later on, the events aimed at contributing to the improvements of RACVIAC
Prevention Initiative for South
Members’ crisis/disaster command and control systems by providing the platform
Eastern Europe (DPPI SEE),
for interaction of civil protection experts responsible for responding to natural and 9-11 November 2009

109
 Disaster Crisis Management-
COVID-19 Pandemic on-line
seminar, 17 June 2020

Diversity and Inclusion in
Security Sector - Key Leadership
Conference, Zagreb, Croatia,
14-16 March 2017, co-organized
with KAS
man-made disasters and catastrophes, and enabling them to present and analyse
their respective national crisis and disaster management models.
The most recent activity in this series was the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis
Management on-line seminar organized on 17 June 2020. The seminar purpose
was to present and analyse national crisis management concepts, inter-agency
cooperation, challenges, best practices and lessons learned in dealing with the
coronavirus pandemic.

110
SSR Pillar has always been concentrating on transferring knowledge, experiences Conference panellists: BG Gordana
Garašić, RAVIAC Deputy Director,
and direct assistance to the South-East European countries’ institutions in develop-
DCAF Assistant Director and Head
ing adequate security sector. In that regard, in 2012, responding to the real needs
of Gender and Security Division
in Security Sector Reform processes of the SEE region from the EU and NATO Mr Daniel De Torres, Ambassador
integration perspective, the Pillar launched a series of Human Rights Protection of Canada to the Republic of
oriented events, focusing primarily on promotion of gender equality and equal op- Croatia H.E. Mr. Daniel Maksymiuk,
portunities, elimination of discrimination, diversity and inclusion. These events also Commander and Senior Military
served as a framework for monitoring and evaluating of the regional progress made Representative of NATO HQ in
to implement the UNSCR 1325 and related resolutions. Sarajevo BG Giselle M. Wilz, and
Ambassador Marriët Schuurman,
the NATO Secretary General
Gender equality, promotion of gender equality policies and equal opportuni- Special Representative for Women,
ties in the security sector and evaluation of the regional progress made to Peace and Security - “Diversity and
implementation of the UNSCR 1325 and related resolutions are the central Inclusion in Security Sector - Key
part of RACVIAC Human Rights Protection portfolio. Leadership Conference”, Zagreb,
Croatia, 14-16 March 2017

The importance of the gender aspect in military operations had prompted NATO,
and other national and multinational defence organisations to address, regulate and
implement gender perspective, both in country and in Peace Support Operations
(PSO).
That was the rationale for RACVIAC to start organizing the Gender Training of the
Trainers Courses, in 2014. The main purpose of these courses has been to instruct
carefully selected participants in addressing and dealing with the implementation
of gender perspective in military operations and its impact on wider civil-military
111
NATO certified Gender Training of the Trainers Course, NATO certified Gender Training of the Trainers Course,
14-26 May 2018 co-organized with NCGM and CAF, 14-26 May 2018

Instructors’ meeting - Gender training of the Trainers Gender Training of the Trainers Course - Syndicate
Course, 9-20 September 2019 logo, 9-20 September 2019

Gender Training of the Trainers Course - Syndicate Students and instructors prepare for the outdoor
logo, 9-20 September 2019 exercise, Gender Training of the Trainers Course -
Syndicate logo, 9-20 September 2019

112
 Group photo: RACVIAC
relations. The two-week course provides the participants with knowledge and skills
MTT with the GToT Course
to plan and develop gender-oriented training programmes as well as to mainstream students of the Portuguese
gender in other training or education curricula. Also, this course strives to build a Armed Forces, Lisbon,
strong team of gender trainers across the SEE region. The purpose and objectives Portugal, 17-31 October 2019
of the course are in accordance with the curriculum of the Nordic Centre for Gender
in Military Operations, NATO Department Head for Gender Training.
Nowadays, fully supported by NCGM in providing NATO certification for the course
graduates, we can proudly say that the ultimate vision to establish RACVIAC as the
regional centre for gender perspective training has been achieved since up to this
moment we have trained almost 140 gender instructors!
This particular training activity also represents an excellent example of the highest
possible level of cooperation and synergy achieved among RACVIAC and its mem-
bers – the course director and most of instructors come from the region, which
additionally proves “regionally owned” aspect of the Centre.
In that regard RACVIAC Mobile Training Team (MTT), consisting of trainers coming
from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia and RACVIAC, conducted
the first “Gender Training of the Trainers Course” for the Portuguese Armed Forces
in Lisbon in October 2019.
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 Conference on Security Challenges for Europe, 22-24 November 2017

Mr Robert Mikac, Ph.D., Mr Florian Qehaja, Ph.D., Michael Lange, Ph.D., Head of KAS Office Zagreb and
Ms Olivera Injac, Ph.D., Mr Sebastian von Münchow, Ambassador Haydar Berk, RACVIAC Director at the
Ph.D., Conference on Security Challenges for Conference on Security Challenges for Europe,
Europe, 22-24 November 2017 22-24 November 2017

Finally, in order to enable open and comprehensive discussions on common security

challenges and create a common vision on how to overcome the existing threats,
primarily in the light of the required capabilities and process of security integration
of the EU and/or NATO membership aspiring countries, in 2013, RACVIAC estab-
lished a series of activities in cooperation with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation
Office in Zagreb.
114
 Conference on Security Challenges for Europe, 21-24 November 2018

Conference on Security Challenges for Europe, 21-24 November 2018 - First Conference Panel “Impact of Euro-Atlantic
Integration Processes on Security and Stability of SEE”- high representatives of national ministries of SEE countries

Senada Šelo Šabić, Ph.D., IRMO (HR) and Ms Alexandra Valery Perry, Ph.D., OSCE Mission to Serbia and Ms Ariane
Stiglmayer, European Stability Initiative, Conference on Wolf, Violence Prevention Network (DE), Conference on
Security Challenges for Europe, 21-24 November 2018 Security Challenges for Europe, 21-24 November 2018
115
Conference on Security
Challenges for Europe, Since then, Conference on Security Challenges for Europe’s panel topics have
10-11 December 2019 been selected around specific security issues identified in context of the time and
the global security trends, having direct or indirect impacts on the Europe’s, par-
ticularly SEE’s present and future. Highlighted are some of them: European Union
external borders, Euro-Atlantic integration processes in SEE, migrations, terrorism,
religious radicalism, violent extremism, soft challenges and resilience.
These Conferences have also been aimed at reviewing the impact of geopolitical
shifts on national security developments, sharing national considerations on the
perceived challenges, fostering dialogue and cooperation and supporting a scientific
and academic approach in developing national security policies.

The Conference on Security Challenges for Europe that gathers senior level
national security policy makers, subject matter experts and academics is
RACVIAC’s annual flagship event, with the purpose of addressing policy devel-
opment processes and the most pressing contemporary security challenges
for Europe and SEE in particular.

This Conference has become RACVIAC annual flagship event, gathering each time
more than 100 participants, senior level national security policy makers and sub-
ject matter experts from the ministries of foreign affairs, the interior and defence,
governmental and non-governmental organizations and members of the academic
community involved in addressing the contemporary security challenges and policy
development processes.

116
It is worth mentioning that the George C. Marshall European Centre for Security
Studies joined this RACVIAC-KAS endeavour in 2019.
As you can see, RACVIAC Security Sector Reform activities have mostly concen-
trated on transferring knowledge, exchange of good practices and experiences and
direct assistance to the SEE countries’ institutions in developing adequate defence
reform programmes.
Looking at the results achieved, RACVIAC has been recognised by SEE countries
as an effective international organisation for defence cooperation in several are-
as: Parliamentary Oversight, Civil-Military Relations, Human Rights Protection and
Gender Equality, Defence and Human Resources Management, Border Security and
Disaster Management.
In the future, RACVIAC intends to put even more efforts into supporting institutional
reforms, effective governance, accountability and oversight in its member countries
thus contributing to a secure environment that is conducive to development and
efficient delivery of security and justice services.

Ambassador Stanislav Raščan (SI),

Sebastian von Münchow, Ph.D.,
GCMC, Mr Mato Škrabalo, MFEA (HR)
and Ms Monika Begović, Ph.D., Atlantic
Council (HR), Conference on Security
Challenges for Europe,
10-11 December 2019

Conference on Security Challenges

for Europe, 10-11 December 2019

117
 THE WAY AHEAD
In the era of globalization and technological innovation the world is likely to be far
more complex and subject to rapid and unpredictable changes. Therefore, the world
is obviously facing an increasing number of security issues and threats. They must
be considered much more seriously than ever before. Responses to future security
threats and challenges must be based on the acknowledgment and understanding
of this reality.
The security priorities in the SEE region have significantly changed due to new
circumstances. Current challenges and threats are both complex and multifaceted,
affecting both individual countries and the entire region. Therefore, it is critical to
create and implement effective countermeasures.

RACVIAC Director with Prime

Minister Andrej Plenković, at
the Croatian Parliament Day,
30 May 2019
Photo: Croatian Parliament

119
 Meeting with the Head of EU
Commission Representation
in Croatia, 8 February 2019

The clear European and Euro-Atlantic orientation of South East Europe, a

close regional and wider cooperation among SEE countries through dialogue
and various forms of partnership is the only response to today’s security
challenges.

This suggests the need to view problems in a wider context and to consider a va-
riety of approaches to problem solving. It also imposes the necessity for security
organizations and institutions such as RACVIAC to have capabilities tailored for
coping with the reality of rapid change and its consequences.
The clear European and Euro-Atlantic orientation of South East Europe, a close re-
gional and wider cooperation among SEE countries through dialogue and various
forms of partnership is the only response to today’s security challenges and leads

RACVIAC Director inaugural visit to MoD of Director General for Defence Policy of Montenegrin
Bosnia and Herzegovina, 29 January 2019 MoD Visits RACVIAC, 7 February 2019

120
 RACVIAC Director pays
inaugural visit to Serbian MoD
and MFA, 27 March 2019

to building of confidence and trust among the countries, thus presenting the best
way to achieve lasting peace and stability as well as social and economic devel-
opment in SEE.
The control of arms still has a big role to play in addressing ongoing regional and
global security concerns, threats and challenges. Given the unfolding and important
challenges and threats in regional and global security, the field of Arms Control must
adopt new approaches and new ways of thinking.
Contemporary warfare is characterized by irregular and non-kinetic, hybrid forms
of conflicts. To counter such threats, increased cooperation of all actors is needed,
especially in the fields of law enforcement and security. Information sharing among
and between states is critical to detect emerging threats and build resilience.
An effective security sector governance is crucial for overall state’s develop-
ment and stability. That is why all security sector reforms efforts have to focus

Visit to SEESAC HQ, 27 March 2019

121
 Meeting with RCC Secretary
General, 15 May 2019

on serving the needs and wellbeing of the population and respecting human
rights.
RACVIAC vision is to be “The leading regional security organization that accelerates
the transformation processes conducive to the European and Euro-Atlantic integration
and values.”
Reflecting this vision and mission, RACVIAC will continue to promote peace and
stability in the region by further contributing to raising the countries’ institutional
capacities in dealing with the common security challenges and increasing their
governance capabilities.

RACVIAC delegation
participates in SEDM DCHODs
Meeting, 11-12 June 2019

122
In the future RACVIAC intends to focus on:
• supporting its Members to effectively implement and fulfil their obligations
and commitments deriving from EU and Euro-Atlantic security agendas,
• deepening the security cooperation and strategic dialogue between coun-
tries in the region in order for them to solve common problems and share
knowledge and best practices,
• building stronger ties with regional and international organizations in better
addressing the needs of the SEE countries, and
• enhancing dialogue with the civil society and academia in effectively ad-
dressing the topics that impact peace and security of the SEE region.

RACVIAC will continue to promote peace and stability in the region by further
contributing to raising the countries’ institutional capacities in dealing with
the common security challenges and increasing their governance capabilities.

Meeting with Mr Talat Xhaferi,

President of the MK Parliament,
12-13 June 2019

123
 RACVIAC IN
NUMBERS
Over the past 20 years RACVIAC has conducted almost 500 activities and meetings
and hosted more than 17,000 participants and lecturers.

In twenty years Members and Associate Members have seconded 162 staff per-
sonnel:

125
 DIRECTORS AND DEPUTY DIRECTORS
RACVIAC DIRECTORS RACVIAC COS/DDs

COL BURKHARD
COL NIKOLA NOGOLICA
THOMASCHEWSKI
2 Oct 2000 – 30 Sept 2002
10 Oct 2000 – 27 Sept 2002

BG JOHANN PUCHER COL ŽELJKO AKRAP

30 Sept 2002 – 30 Sept 2004 27 Sept 2002 – 30 Apr 2005

MG STERGIOS PAPOTIS COL RAJKO DUMANČIĆ

2 Oct 2004 – 11 Oct 2007 1 May 2005 – 15 July 2007

COL VLADIMIR SUPERINA

15 July 2007 – 2 July 2008

AMB NEDŽAD HADŽIMUSIĆ

11 Oct 2007 – 15 Oct 2009

COL TOMISLAV VIBOVEC

31 July 2008 – 31 July 2009

126
RACVIAC DIRECTORS RACVIAC COS/DDs

AMB NIKOLA TODORČEVSKI COL ŽELJKO CEPANEC

15 Oct 2009 – 20 Oct 2012 1 Aug 2009 – 31 July 2013

AMB BRANIMIR MANDIĆ BG ZDRAVKO JAKOP

20 Oct 2012 – 22 Oct 2015 1 Aug 2013 – 17 Feb 2016

AMB HAYDAR BERK BG GORDANA GARAŠIĆ

22 Oct 2015 – 1 Nov 2018 10 July 2016 – 14 Mar 2020

MG (ret.) JERONIM BAZO MG SLAVEN ZDILAR

1 Nov 2018 – 15 Mar 2020 –

127
MAG CHAIRPERSONS
MG Zyber Dushku, Ministry of Defence, Chief of Armed Forces (2012/2013)
BG Nazmi Cahani, Ministry of Defence, Land Force Commander (2016/2017)

Mr Zoran Šajinović, Ministry of Defence, Deputy Minister (2011/2012)

AMB Branimir Mandić, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Assistant Minister
(2017/2018)

Yordan Bozhilov, Ministry of Defence, Assistant Minister (2007/2008)

Mr Pjer Šimunović, Ministry of Defence, State Secretary (2009/2010)

Ms Vesna Batistić-Kos, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Assistant
Minister (2013/2014)
Ms Vesna Batistić-Kos, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Assistant
Minister (2015/2016)
AMB Amir Muharemi, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Assistant
Minister (2018)
AMB Mario Horvatić, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Assistant
Minister, ad hoc Chairperson (October 2018)

BG Hans Huebner, Federal Ministry of Defence, Commander of the Federal

Armed Forces Verification Centre (2000/2001)

AMB a.h. Eleftherios Anghelopoulos, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, (2018/2019)

AMB Stavros Tsiepas, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the
Hellenic Republic to the Republic of Croatia, ad hoc Chairperson (October 2019)

128
Mr Zoltan Varga, Ministry of Defence, Head of Arms Control Agency
(2001/2002)

Mr Draško Jovanović, Ministry of Defence, Deputy Minister (2010/2011)

Mr Ivica Ivanović, Ministry of Defence, Director General for Defence Policy
(2019 /March 2020)
Commander Vučić Bošković, Ministry of Defence, Coordinator for the Defence
Policy and Planning Directorate (March –May 2020)
MG Rajko Pešić, Ministry of Defence, Director General of the Directorate for
Defence Policy and Planning, ad hoc Chairperson (May – October 2020)

COL Ion Savciuc, Ministry of Defence, Deputy Chief of General Staff

(2008/2009)
BG Ion Coropcean, Ministry of Defence, Chief of General Staff (2009)

COL Marin Radu, Ministry of Defence, Head of Arms Control Verification

Division (2004/2005)

BG Marjan Grabnar, Ministry of Defence, Head of Verification Agency

(2002/2003)

MG Zdravko Ponoš, Ministry of Defence, Chief of General Staff (2006/2007)

MG Milan Mojsilović, Ministry Of Defence, MILREP NATO (2014/2015)

BG Suleyman Canpolat, Chief of Disarmament and International Security

Affairs Division, Turkish Army (2003/2004)

129
 CONGRATULATORY
MESSAGES
Our partnership with RACVIAC started in 2014 and we are proud to mention that we are
jointly running two regional projects. First one, called C-WMD Network, is aimed to assist
SEE countries in the development of C-WMD National Strategies as well as to build a
strong regional community and network of experts in the domain of non-proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction. Additionally, we have also defined four specific activities
within the regional cooperation framework related to regional C-WMD risk atlas develop-
ment, bio-security, trends analysis, and dual-use technology.
Undoubtedly, the SEE region would not be the same without RACVIAC and its commitment
to supporting confidence building, democratization processes and enhancing security di-
alogue and cooperation.
Happy anniversary, RACVIAC!
David Musgrave
DTRA’s Deputy Director

On behalf of Konrad Adenauer Foundation I would like to congratulate RACVIAC on 20

years of work and successful cooperation in the region on security matters.
When RACVIAC was founded, the situation in the region was pretty much different. There
was a lot of work on the ground trying to overcome post-war situation. Nowadays, we are
facing very different challenges, maybe even more challenging, especially in this region
of the world, the South East Europe and the Western Balkans. We as Konrad Adenauer
Foundation are happy to team up and, having with RACVIAC done a lot of successful two-
day conferences on various issues in the security sector in the past, I think our cooperation
might be even more important in the future.
Once again congratulations and we are very much looking forward to cooperating with
you again.
Holger Heibach,
Head of KAS Office in Zagreb

131
Over the past two decades, RACVIAC has established itself as a unique regional platform for
discussion of current security issues among professionals from across the security sector,
including academia and civil society.  The Marshall Center extends its congratulations on
the occasion of RACVIAC’s twentieth anniversary and looks forward to further partnership
for many years to come. 
With best wishes and
Sincerely,
Dr. Andrew A. Michta
Dean, College of International and Security Studies
George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies

Centre for Security Cooperation is a trustworthy member of European Security and Defence
College’s network. Throughout the years, it has successfully conducted its mission to pro-
vide quality courses. By building bridges between different countries and regions, it fulfils
the goal to enhance the educational environment & standards in security-related issues.
Happy 20th Anniversary!
On the behalf of ESDC Secretariat,
Dr. Georgică Panfil – Training Manager

The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina is proud of its longstanding partnership with
the RACVIAC – Center for Security Co-operation. Our partnership has included ​​numerous
and diverse efforts to address contemporary security and defense challenges. 
Over the past 20 years, the Centre has become an indispensable forum for regional co-op-
eration, dialogue and knowledge exchange. It is now an essential actor for building confi-
dence and increasing stability in South East Europe. 
We take this opportunity to congratulate the Centre on its 20th anniversary, and look for-
ward to continued co-operation in the years to come.​
OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina

RAI and RACVIAC are two regional organizations that share the same objectives and val-
ues and facilitate the integration process through stepping up the pace of reforms. Since
2014, RAI and RACVIAC have built a strong partnership and cooperation through organ-
izing conferences and annual regional workshops on specific anti-corruption and integrity
topics with multi-disciplinary approach, with the focus on leadership commitment, as a
prerequisite for promoting public confidence and trust in the defence sector.

132
Committed to this goal, both organizations will continue working together and developing
synergies through organization of joint activities dedicated to the new challenges and
trends in the anti-corruption efforts.
Vladan Joksimovic
Head of Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative (RAI)

On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of RACVIAC – Centre for Security Cooperation, the
SEDM-CC/PMSC Secretariat would like to extend the warmest congratulations to RACVIAC,
as a distinguished partner of the South Eastern Defence Ministerial (SEDM) Initiative.
We highly value the consistent efforts of RACVIAC - Centre for Security Cooperation as an
important international security organization in South Eastern Europe in further fostering
the dialogue and strengthening and enhancing the regional cooperation. The SEDM-CC/
PMSC Secretariat is honored to have been cooperating with RACVIAC for 20 years and
firmly believes that our cooperation will continue to increase toward our common security
goals.
Sindi Kovaçi
SEDM-CC/PMSC Secretariat
Albanian Chairmanship

For many years the Austrian National Defence Academy has had the honour and privilege
of cooperating with RACVIAC. We would like to wish you all the best for the coming years
and look forward to our continued cooperation.
Austrian National Defence Academy
Vienna

The RACVIAC idea of the common exchange of knowledge and bringing people together
for a peaceful future is a unique initiative in Europe. Supporting the RACVIAC-Centre for
Security Cooperation in the framework of transnational water management and flood
protection is a not only a duty for us, it is an honor to be part of this network.
We congratulate the RACVIAC partnership and all its members for the achieved work over
20 years of cooperative liaison – and looking forward to a further successful cooperation.
Martin Angelmaier
Head of Department of Water Management
Office of the Lower Austrian Federal Government

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the
ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

133
DONATIONS TO LOCAL COMMUNITY

134
RACVIAC TEAMBUILDINGS

135
 ABBREVIATIONS

AC Arms Control GToT Gender Training of the Trainers

ACER European Union Agency for the Cooperation IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency
of Energy Regulators
ICP International Counterproliferation Program
CBRN Chemical, Biological, Radiological and
IRC International and Regional Cooperation
Nuclear
IRMO Institute for Development and International
CERT Computer Emergency Response Team
Relations
CESS Centre for European Security Studies
ITF International Trust Fund
CFE Conventional Armed Forces in Europe
JAA TO International Joint Aviation Authorities
Treaty
Training Organisation
CoC Code of Conduct
KAS Konrad Adenauer Foundation
CROMAC Croatian Mine Centre
LNG liquefied natural gas
CSDP Common Security and Defence Policy
MAG Multinational Advisory Group
CSE Cooperative Security Environment
MARRI Migration, Asylum, Refugees Regional
CTED Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Initiative
Directorate
MFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs
CWC Chemical Weapons Convention
MFEA Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
C-WMD Countering-Weapons of Mass Destruction
MoD Ministry of Defence
DCAF Geneva Centre for Security Sector
MoI Ministry of Interior
Governance
MTT Mobile Training Team
DCHOD Deputy Chief of Defence
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
DTRA Defence Threat Reduction Agency
NCGM Nordic Centre for Gender in Military
ENISA European Union Agency for Cybersecurity
Operations
ESDC European Security and Defence College
NDC Netherlands Defence College
ESDP European Security and Defence Policy
NPA Norwegian People’s Aid
EU European Union
NPRD National Protection and Rescue Directorate
FTF Foreign Terrorist Fighters
OECD DAC Development Assistance Committee of the
GCMC George C. Marshall European Center for Organization for Economic Co-operation
Security Studies and Development
137
OPCW Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons
OS Open Skies
OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation
in Europe
OST Treaty on Open Skies
P(M)SC Private (Military) Security Companies
PSI Proliferation Security Initiative
PSSM Physical Security and Stockpile
Management
RACVIAC Regional Arms Control Verification and
Implementation Centre
RAI Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative
RASR Regional Approach to Stockpile Reduction
RCC Regional Cooperation Council
SALW Small Arms and Light Weapons
SAR Search and Rescue
SEDM CC/PMSC South-Eastern Europe Defence
Ministerial - Coordination Committee and
Political Military Steering Committee
SEDM South-Eastern Europe Defence Ministerial
SEE South East(ern) Europe
SEECP South-East European Cooperation Process
SEESAC South Eastern and Eastern Europe
Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms
and Light Weapons
138
SELEC Southeast European Law Enforcement
Center
SIPRI Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute
SSR Security Sector Reform
TAIEX Technical Assistance and Information
Exchange
TP Thermal Plant
TTX Table Top Exercise
UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNODA United Nations Office for Disarmament
Affairs
UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
UNSCR United Nations Security Council Resolution
USEUCOM United States European Command
UTSAM International Center for Terrorism and
Transnational Crime
VD Vienna Document
WG Working Group
WMD Weapons of Mass Destruction
 SE
EUROP E

CENTRE FOR SECURITY COOPERATION

www.racviac.org
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