Just over a quarter of the world’s countries and territories are currently on track to meet the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 16.1. As demonstrated in our 2021 update to the Global Violent Deaths database, there has been a six per cent rise in global deadly violence compared to 2020— a significant setback. Of the approximately 580,000 violent deaths, about 45 per cent were inflicted by firearms. If current trends continue or increase, the world will miss the target to halve all forms of violence and related death rates by 2030.

Mali has faced more than a decade of armed violence perpetrated by extremists, resulting in thousands of victims among national and international armed forces, UN peacekeepers, and civilians.   

'In 2013, the United Nations Security Council pledged to ‘increase its attention to women, peace and security issues in all relevant thematic areas of work on its agenda, including … threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts’.

'Many smugglers think of themselves as transporters, not criminals.[i] For, they argue, isn’t the smuggling of petrol, cigarettes and other goods across largely uncontrolled borders simply a way of making a living? And in terms of moving people, can people who smuggle migrants across borders be seen rather as service providers such as bus companies — as some suggest — rather than as smugglers?

This Briefing Paper from the Small Arms Survey maps cross-border arms trafficking in West Africa and the Sahel through case studies on Niger, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, and the two tri-border areas of Burkina Faso–Côte d’Ivoire–Mali, and Ghana–Côte d’Ivoire–Burkina Faso.

The study reveals that highly organized trafficking networks move sizable arms quantities across large areas of land north of the Niger River. Arms trafficking south of the river is more characterized by lower-level arms flows and local intermediaries engaging in so-called ‘ant trade’.

Le monitoring des armes au Sahel: les institutions forensiques nationales, une Note d'information du projet Évaluation de la sécurité en Afrique du Nord (SANA), analyse les capacités et les pratiques des institutions forensiques de trois États du Sahel francophone – la Mauritanie, le Niger et le Tchad – qui comptent, parmi leur personnel, des experts particulièrement compétents sur la question des armes à feu et des munitions à l’échelle locale.

This Report from the Small Arms Survey’s Security Assessment in North Africa (SANA) project examines insecurity, terrorism, and trafficking in Niger.The Sahel hosts multiple conflicts with myriad armed actors destabilizing the entire region. Positioned at the heart of this region, Niger sits at the crossroads of terrorism, trafficking, and conflict.