Assessing Gender Responsiveness in the Implementation of Small Arms Control Action Plans

At the Fourth Review Conference of the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons in 2024, member states expressed concern that the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons impedes the achievement of gender equality. This has long been understood by women’s civil society organizations, as well as several states that have both experienced and documented the gender-differentiated impacts of small arms and light weapons and their broader impacts on human rights.

To help countries mainstream gender perspectives and take into consideration the specific needs of men, women, boys, girls, and under-represented groups in their action plans and policies, the Survey has developed two how-to guides.

Assessing Gender Responsiveness in the Implementation of Small Arms Control Action Plans is a tool to assist small arms control stakeholders, especially national commissions (NatComs) on small arms, to assess gender responsiveness in the implementation of their countries’ national action plans (NAPs) to control small arms. It is designed to support NatComs in assessing in mid-term or final evaluations the extent to which gender is mainstreamed in their countries’ NAPs, whether these assessments are undertaken internally or by a third party.