Situation Update: Ukraine

The Ukrainian population’s perception towards firearms is evolving. While civilian possession remains limited, the ongoing war since the Russian invasion increases the risk of illicit proliferation, potential misuse, and broader safety concerns. As of July 2024, 5% of surveyed households report possessing firearms—down from pre-invasion levels and the lowest since monitoring began. Of these firearm-owning households, 63% reported having (some of) their weapons recorded in the Unified Register of Weapons (URW), up from 46% in December 2023.

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have become a key tool in asymmetric warfare, employed in the pursuit of many objectives, including destabilization of the state and governing authorities, exertion of control and influence, and creation of fear in a population. More than 80 per cent of civilian IED casualties occur in civilian spaces, and civilians are deliberately targeted, including vulnerable groups such as children.

In this video, first screened at a Small Arms Survey-organized event on 17 October 2024 during Geneva Peace Week, Carina Solmirano (ATT Monitor Project Lead at Control Arms, and future Head of the ATT Secretariat) gives an overview of the Arms Trade Treaty's history, the challenges it faces, and its future outlook.

First screened at a Small Arms Survey-organized event on 17 October 2024 during Geneva Peace Week, this video showcases experts making recommendations on how to enhance the effectiveness of arms control and promoting global peace.

Selon les données existantes, la République de Guinée ne compte pas parmi les États ouest-africains les plus touchés par la prolifération des armes légères et de petit calibre, y compris les armes à feu artisanales. Mais les autorités nationales savent que ce phénomène en constante évolution pose des problèmes sécuritaires et sociétaux considérables qu’elles s’efforcent de cerner et de régler depuis quelques années.

In this episode of the Small Arms Survey podcast, the EU-LAS project implementing partners—INTERPOL, the WCO, and the Small Arms Survey—as well as the League of Arab States, reflect on the challenges related to small arms in the Arab region. They review the progress made in phase two of the project to address these challenges and discuss the work that still lies ahead as preparations for the third phase begin.

'The globalization and expansion of the private security industry has led to concerns about whether the industry has adequate safeguards to prevent sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and other human rights abuses, by its personnel.'

Continue reading this blog post on MEDIUM.

The Small Arms Survey podcast series 'Road to RevCon4' originally ran in the weeks prior to the Fourth Review Conference (RevCon4) of the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons, held in June 2024 at UN Headquarters.

The purpose of the series was to inform delegations and other Programme of Action (PoA) stakeholders about key issues up for discussion at the Review Conference, and to provide insights from recent relevant empirical research and analysis conducted by the Small Arms Survey and its partners.

The Indo-Pacific region, in all its vastness and diversity, presents many international security challenges. It is also a region with, thus far, limited engagement with the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Only 11 Indo-Pacific countries are currently states parties to the ATT, and nine states from the region have signed the Treaty but not yet ratified it.