The Briefing Paper from the Security Assessment in North Africa (SANA) project examines the capacities of different actors to monitor illicit arms flows in the Sahel region. Monitoring illicit arms flows is critical to measuring states’ progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—especially Target 16.4, which calls for a significant reduction of illicit arms flows by 2030.

As part of a European Union project designed to support preparations for RevCon3 (held in June 2018 in New York), the Small Arms Survey facilitated discussions at four thematic symposia in October–November 2017. They focused on:

Although Libya's estimated rate of violent deaths is still far below those of Syria and several Central American nations, it remains significant, ranking eighth globally for 2016. This unenviable situation is symptomatic of the ongoing turmoil and instability facing the country since 2011.

Arms Control 2.0: Operationalizing SDG Target 16.4 describes how the implementation of international arms control instruments supports the aim of reducing illicit arms flows in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 16.4.

The Sixth Biennial Meeting of States (BMS6) was the final meeting before the Third Review Conference of the UN Small Arms Programme of Action (PoA), scheduled for June 2018, and the first since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Taking account of the SDGs and other new developments, the main task for BMS6 was to prepare the ground for the Review Conference.

Beyond the Battlefield: Towards a Better Assessment of the Human Cost of Armed Conflict, makes a case for stepping up efforts to measure and understand the entire range of conflict-related deaths, particularly among forcibly displaced populations.

Measuring Illicit Arms Flows: Ukraine is the fourth case study in a series examining the measurement of illicit arms flows in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 16.

Tracking Conflict-Related Deaths – A Preliminary Overview of Monitoring Systems aims to contribute to the development of a standardized methodology for tracking the number of people who are killed in armed conflict. This, in the context of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of which Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 16.1 specifies to ‘[s]ignificantly reduce all forms of violence and related deaths everywhere’.

In the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Small Arms Survey presents a study of available information on violent deaths, disaggregated by sex. A Gendered Analysis of Violent Deaths assesses variations in the risk of violent death for men and women in conflict and non-conflict settings. It finds that in some high-income countries, more women than men die violently every year, and that intimate partner violence remains a problem even when overall homicide rates decrease.

The Small Arms Survey has released a study on the challenges of monitoring illicit small arms flows in Honduras. Measuring Illicit Arms Flows: Honduras notes how understanding these challenges can help develop suitable indicators for measuring progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal Target 16.4, which commits states to ‘significantly reduce illicit. . . arms flows’ by 2030.