![]() ![]() States did not call into question the UN program or other UN instruments on small arms at the 2006 review conference, and the implementation of the instruments remains on the international agenda. They urged the intensification of efforts at the global level in “crucial” areas such as controls and standards on small arms transfers, on ammunition, and on civilian small arms possession. Many states from Europe, Latin America, the Pacific, and sub-Saharan Africa disputed the claim that existing global standards on small arms control were sufficient to combat the illicit small arms trade effectively. They argued that states should act to implement previous commitments rather than pursuing new ones. A small group of states, including China, Cuba, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Russia, and the United States, opposed any further development of the UN program. States refused to budge on their positions for how the threat of illicit small arms should be countered at the global level. But, in the end, the two-week UN conference finished in a deadlock. Many states and arms control advocates saw the conference as a valuable opportunity to elaborate on vague recommendations in the UN program and to agree on common standards for outstanding issues in international arms controls. Last summer, a UN conference brought many of these states together again to review the progress made in implementing the program. The program does not define the “illicit” arms trade, although most understand it to refer to trade that is contrary to the law of states and/or international law. In 2001, more than 140 states sought to address the proliferation of illicit small arms by forging the UN Program of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects. Indeed, the great majority were transferred legally before they were diverted to unauthorized users. Weak national controls and a lack of international cooperation on arms control also have led to the proliferation of these weapons on illicit markets. More than 600 million small arms are estimated to be in global circulation, stockpiles, and private possession, and several million more are produced each year in more than 90 countries. Unfortunately, their global availability, often at rock-bottom prices, has greatly increased since the end of the Cold War partly because of the sale of large quantities of surplus stocks from states in the former Soviet Union. Hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to have been killed with such arms each year, and many more are wounded or live in daily fear of armed violence from those misusing them. These weapons also play a prominent role in armed crime and domestic violence in the developed world as well as the developing world. They undermine stability and security in places as diverse as Afghanistan, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Iraq. ![]() Small arms and light weapons are the weapons of choice for insurgents, terrorists, warlords, and crime syndicates. ![]()
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