Road to RevCon4: The UN PoA and Demand

Submitted by Katie Lazaro on 13 June, 2024

Since the early 2000s, arms control experts and policymakers have come to recognise the importance of a demand perspective. Yet, demand-side factors have often been sidelined due to their absence from the mandates of international agreements. The UN Programme of Action's preamble emphasizes the pressing need for international cooperation to combat this trade from both supply and demand perspectives, yet, the operational clauses primarily focus on addressing supply-side factors.

Road to RevCon4: The UN PoA and the RevCon process

Submitted by Katie Lazaro on 10 June, 2024

Every six years, a Review Conference, RevCon, is held to review progress made in the implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, UN PoA, and the International Tracing Instrument, ITI. 

The next RevCon, RevCon4, will take place from 18–28 June 2024 in New York. The President-designate for RevCon4 is the Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the UN, Ambassador Maritza Chan-Valaverde.

Road to RevCon4: Linking small arms control to national development frameworks—RevCon4 opportunities

Submitted by Katie Lazaro on 31 May, 2024

The topic of integrating small arms control into national development processes is of paramount relevance in the context of RevCon 4. There is a correlation between small arms proliferation and Sustainable Development Goals. At national level, linking small arms control to national development frameworks is critical for addressing the complex and interconnected challenges posed by illicit weapons proliferation. 

Meaningful Partners: Opportunities for Collaboration between Women, Peace and Security, and Small Arms Control at the National Level

Submitted by Katie Lazaro on 30 January, 2024

National actors working in small arms control and on women, peace, and security (WPS) share commitments to reduce suffering, maintain peace and security, and contribute to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet, while these cross references are increasingly commonplace in the international policy framework, this does not often translate into harmonized references in national action plans (NAPs) on WPS and small arms control.

Privately Made Firearms in the European Union

Submitted by Katie Lazaro on 5 December, 2023

Improvements in technology and information sharing have transformed PMFs from crude, impractical homemade devices of limited value to most criminals into highly functional weapons that are increasingly viewed as viable substitutes for factory-built firearms. The effectiveness of national and international small arms control regimes are gradually being eroded; the lack of serial numbers on such weapons, for example, undermines tracing efforts that have been a cornerstone of investigations. 

An Iron Fist in Lakes State: Law, Order, and Volatility on the Margins

Submitted by Katie Lazaro on 18 July, 2023

Situation Update: Lakes state, South Sudan

Since his appointment as governor of Lakes state in June 2021, Rin Tueny Mabor has transformed the area from one of the most troubled in South Sudan to one of the most secure. His heavy-handed approach, however, has drawn controversy with allegations of human rights violations.

Taliban Arms Management Practices

Submitted by Katie Lazaro on 16 June, 2023

Situation Update: Afghanistan

Almost two years after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the country faces multiple overlapping crises and growing humanitarian needs. The Taliban government has attempted to monitor and control small arms at the national level, however, much of the day-to-day running of affairs is left to the local officials both for political reasons and capacity issues.

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