In the midst of a multitude of global crises and escalating armed conflicts, a grim reality emerges: small arms and light weapons, often overlooked, prove to be silent killers. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, briefed the Security Council with alarming statistics, revealing that these weapons claimed over 260,000 lives in 2021 alone, constituting 45% of all violent deaths.
SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS EXACERBATING CONFLICTS
Nakamitsu emphasized the severity of the situation, stating, “This is more than 700 people a day, or one person dying from small arms every two minutes.” Small arms and light weapons, she noted, are the weapons of choice in initiating, sustaining, and exacerbating conflicts, armed violence, terrorism, and other forms of organized crime.
To address this worsening and complex security threat, Nakamitsu stressed the need for complementary approaches at both national and regional levels. She called for the translation of global commitments into tailored action, urging the establishment of voluntary national and regional targets and the measurement of progress towards these goals.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION FRAMEWORKS NEEDED
“Good practices and lessons learned from successful regional initiatives demonstrate the importance of robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks to measure progress,” she added. Whole-of-government approaches that integrate small arms and light weapons control into development, prevention, and peace building initiatives were deemed crucial.
Nakamitsu also highlighted the differentiated impact of these weapons on women and urged the compilation of better quality data for accurate analysis. Such data, she argued, is essential for evidence-based prevention and protection strategies, as well as gender-responsive policymaking and programming on small arms and light weapons.
Expressing grave concern, the UN Official addressed the illicit flows of arms and ammunition, violating arms embargoes. She emphasized the need to improve enforcement of arms embargoes and urged the Security Council to continue seeking reports from Member States on the steps taken to implement arms embargoes and efforts to cooperate and share information with panels of experts.
As these weapons continue to claim lives and pose a serious threat to global security, the call for concerted national, regional, and international action becomes more urgent than ever.
