§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)On 30 November 2004, the Government issued a licence for the export of training ammunition to the security department of the US Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Training ammunition is non-lethal, allowing for practice shooting without risk of serious injury. In this case, the equipment was for training purposes in support of the day-to-day protection of embassy personnel.
An EU arms embargo has been in place against Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1996. The purpose of the embargo is to aid the establishment of peace and stability for the people of the region, taking into account the need to ensure the safety of international troops and civilian personnel deployed. We fully support the EU embargo. However, in limited circumstances, we are prepared to make exemptions where denying an export would frustrate the purposes of the embargo. I am confident that granting an exemption to allow for the protection of diplomatic personnel is consistent with the embargo's aim of establishing peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina.