New Survey Briefing Paper and How-to guide on national action plans

Guidance provided at the Fourth Review Conference of the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons in June 2024 underscored the importance of aligning national action plans (NAPs) with sustainable development, security, and gender-responsive policies, in addition to the need for inter-agency collaboration and the inclusion of non-governmental stakeholders in small arms control efforts.

While this shift signals a transformative paradigm in small arms control—moving beyond a compliance-driven model rooted in international norms and standards toward a more integrated approach that positions arms control as a tool to advance national objectives in human security, development, and governance—it raises a critical question: how can NAPs be effectively leveraged to ensure this alignment?

In response, the Survey has produced two publications:

• National Action Plans as Tools for Effective Small Arms Control: Lessons from West Africa, commissioned by the Mines Advisory Group, is a Briefing Paper that examines the current state of practice of NAPs on small arms and light weapons in West Africa, their impact, and existing opportunities to enhance their effectiveness and potential in integrating small arms control into broader public policy frameworks that address development and security concerns.
• Developing Strategies and National Action Plans on Small Arms Control builds on the Small Arms Survey’s extensive engagement with national authorities on small arms control, particularly in West and Central Africa, and offers practical, context-specific approaches to enhance the coherence, adaptability, and inclusivity of NAPs. It promotes multi-stakeholder engagement, based on the Survey’s observation that both inter-agency collaboration and partnership with civil society actors are necessary to align small arms control with public policy objectives, and ensure effective resource allocation for implementation.

Both aim to provide insights and concrete steps to policymakers, practitioners, and national commissions regarding their approach to NAPs, while stimulating a broader reflection on the best way to adapt NAPs in order to address new challenges and leverage their full potential.

Read: National Action Plans as Tools for Effective Small Arms Control: Lessons from West Africa

Read: Developing Strategies and National Action Plans on Small Arms Control

For more, check out:

• Assessing Gender Responsiveness in the Implementation of Small Arms Control Action Plans (January 2025)—a How-to Guide that supports national commissions in assessing in mid-term or final evaluations the extent to which gender is mainstreamed in their countries’ NAPs.
• Developing Gender-responsive National Action Plans on Small Arms (January 2025)—a How-to Guide that provides guidance on how to make national small arms policies and practices, specifically small arms NAPs, more inclusive and gender responsive.
• Road to RevCon4: Linking small arms control to national development frameworks—RevCon4 opportunities (June 2024)—an episode from the Survey’s ‘Road to RevCon4’ podcast series that discusses the connection between small arms and light weapons control and national development processes.
• The Pathway to a Regional C-IED Strategy in West Africa project page
• Outputs discussing national action plans in our Resource Library

Other news from the Survey:

• New HSBA Briefing Paper on the politics of violence in South Sudan
• News from the UNG: presentation of research on criminal proceedings under Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine
• New Briefing Paper on NATO-pattern weapons for sale in arms markets in Afghanistan and Pakistan
• New update to the unplanned explosions at munitions sites database
• New HSBA Briefing Paper on the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan