United Nations published this video item, entitled “Small Arms & Light Weapons Undermines Peace & Security Globally – Security Council | United Nations” – below is their description.
Briefing by Izumi Nakamitsu, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, on Small Arms- Security Council, 8874th meeting.
UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu said the misuse, illicit transfer and destabilizing accumulation of small arms and light weapons, and their ammunition, remain a “defining factor in undermining peace and security at the national, regional and global levels and have deeply aggravated situations for vulnerable populations already suffering from conflict.”
Briefing the Security Council today (06 Oct) on the latest Secretary-General report on small arms and light weapons, Nakamitsu said, in places where UN peace operations have been mandated, illicit flows and easy availability of arms can exacerbate and sustain conflict dynamics; render arms embargoes ineffective; endanger peacekeepers, humanitarian workers and local populations; and complicate the achievements of peace agreements.
She commended the Council’s increasing consideration of the issue of small arms and encouraged it to integrate weapons and ammunition management considerations in its work on conflict prevention.
The High Representative said, “Inadequately maintained stockpiles of weapons and ammunition constitute serious humanitarian hazards and are a known source of weapons diversion, which negatively impacts peace and security beyond conflict and post conflict settings.”
Nakamitsu said internationally recognised tools, such as the Modular Small-arms-control Implementation Compendium and the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines, are increasingly being used by States for effective weapons and ammunition management.
The High Representative further encouraged the Security Council to fully integrate considerations of weapons and ammunition into its work not only on country-specific, but also on thematic discussions. This includes addressing the arms-crime-terrorism-nexus as one interrelated and multifaceted security threat that requires complementary approaches and responses, as well as the nexus between sustainable development and small arms.
She said thematic discussions on issues such as children in armed conflict and the Women, Peace and Security agenda are also important opportunities to reflect on convergence with small arms-related issues as part of the Security Council’s programme of work.
Nakamitsu said, “Children continue to bear the brunt of armed conflict, often enabled and prolonged by the widespread availability of weapons. Thus, all small arms and light weapons control initiatives should be carried out with due attention to their potential impacts on children’s rights and vice versa.”
The High Representative noted the shift of weapon purchases, in particular their parts and components, “through the Darknet and through online platforms, resulting in a significant increase in the use of postal and courier services to traffic these items, making detection and criminal investigations of the illicit transfer more difficult.” She said an early adoption of measures to address those emerging challenges would ensure that small arms control remains effective and responds to those new realities.
Nakamitsu encouraged the Council to consider the establishment or designation of a dedicated component, unit or cell within missions mandated to support host State and competent national authorities in the processing of recovered weapons and the treatment of ammunition recovered from the illicit sphere. She said this would enable UN peace operations to be substantially more involved in supporting the systematic collection, centralization and analysis of small arms-related data and ensure evidence-based policy making and programming on the ground.
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