Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) continue to represent a persistent and increasingly complex global threat, with profound humanitarian, security, and socio-economic consequences. In 2023 alone, IED incidents resulted in 3,237 casualties across 25 countries, with civilians accounting for more than two-thirds of those affected.
On 10 December 2025, the Small Arms Survey and the Center for Security Studies 'CENSS' held an event for the launch of a new report titled 'Weapons Compass: Proliferation and Control of Arms and Ammunition in Wartime Ukraine'
Since the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, vast quantities of small arms, light weapons, and ammunition have been deployed to the front lines, some of which have been lost or abandoned by combatants and subsequently found and stockpiled by civilians over the course of the war.
« À ce jour, les données sur les victimes des UEMS sont rarement ventilées par sexe et il n’existe que peu d’analyses des impacts sexospécifiques des UEMS sur les populations civiles à court, moyen et long terme. Cet article est une première étape pour combler cette lacune. Il s’appuie sur des entretiens menés par une équipe d’enquêteur·rices nationaux·ales dans un quartier touché par une UEMS en Afrique.
How have civilian attitudes and perceptions towards firearms in Ukraine been impacted by the 2022 Russian full-scale invasion?
The Small Arms Survey has been monitoring what impact the ongoing war has had on Ukrainian citizens and their relationship with small arms and light weapons. With firearms increasingly prominent in today’s society, grasping public sentiment is essential for policymakers to craft evidence-based policies that truly reflect citizens’ real‑world circumstances and priorities.
The dual-use nature of explosive precursor chemicals (EPCs) makes implementing counter-improvised explosive device (C-IED) measures complicated. These chemicals are misused to manufacture improvised explosives and their diversion poses a significant challenge to national and international efforts aimed at preventing the proliferation of IEDs. Many EPCs, however, are critical components in industrial, commercial, and agricultural work, and restrictions—if not considerate of stakeholders in legitimate supply chains—risk negatively impacting key industries.
In 2023, United Nations Member States adopted a new international instrument containing political commitments to prevent diversion, illicit trafficking, and misuse of ammunition; mitigate and prevent unplanned explosions at munition sites; ensure the safety and security of conventional ammunition throughout its life-cycle from the point of manufacture; and contribute to lasting peace, security and sustainable development.
Unplanned explosions at munitions sites (UEMS) pose challenges on a global scale as they can occur anywhere. Since 2009, the Small Arms Survey has developed and maintained a database on UEMS, totalling 674 incidents over the period 1979–2024 that resulted in more than 31,000 casualties. These incidents happened in 108 countries across every continent but Antarctica. UEMS generate public health and humanitarian costs, and have long-term socio-economic, financial, and environmental consequences.
'While firearm seizures often take centre stage in research and media articles, ammunition receives far less attention. Pistols, shotguns, and rifles cannot maim and kill without ammunition, yet ammunition seizures are frequently overlooked when not accompanied by firearms. The analysis of ammunition seizures can, nevertheless, provide important insights into the nature and scope of armed violence in a given region and, by extension, the public health risks posed by firearm-related injuries and deaths.'
Under the Global Framework for Through-life Conventional Ammunition Management, States committed to enhance the marking and tracing of conventional ammunition under national ownership and control (Objective 11), including by applying markings such as the manufacturer, the calibre or type, the year of production and the lot number.