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	Overview: Small Arms

World Federation of United Nations Associations

The small arms problem is present in news headlines every day. Just this past week there was a school shooting in Finland, discussions of the right to bear arms in the US Presidential campaigns, and stories of conflicts in developing countries where small arms play a devastating role.

With one gun for every ten people, the UN considers the small arms crisis one of the gravest challenges facing the world.

The area of small arms is complex and interconnected; it is precisely the type of issue that requires concerted international efforts and determination for change to be achieved. Traditionally, small arms have been placed in the field of peace and security, specifically disarmament. However,  it has become clear that the existence, use, and proliferation of small arms is related to issues of governance, development, human rights, international law, culture, as well as many other fields.

In 1997, the report of the UN’s Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms defined small arms as: “revolvers and self-loading pistols, rifles and carbines, assault rifles, sub-machine guns, and light machine guns”. Overall, small arms are portable, cheap and there is easy-access to them. They cause approximately half a million deaths annually around the world, and even more victims are hurt or maimed. 

The profit made from the gun trade is about 4 billion dollars globally each year, and 1 billion of that comes from illicit trade. However, the costs are tremendous – in Latin America alone, about 10% of the GDP annually is lost to gun violence. Guns are a costly business.

Significant processes have been initiated in the past decade with the aim of reducing armed violence in the world. In 2001 the UN launched its Program of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects, and in 2002 appointed the first Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Small Arms under the auspices of the then Human Rights Commission.

Drawing on existing international law, the Arms Trade Treaty is based on the simple principle that arms exporters and importers have a responsibility to ensure that they do not provide weapons that would be used on serious violations of international law. Its main goal is to keep weapons from being used for human rights violations.

Small arms are an issue for both international and domestic law. National legislations and ministries of internal affairs have a huge responsibility to reduce armed violence. It is an issue that crosses borders, and requires bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

The ongoing 63rd session of the UN General Assembly and the First Committee sessions in October will address the issue of small arms. Please see the UN Perspectives section for insights from Daniël Prins, head of the Conventional Arms Branch of the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs.

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