Small Arms

  • September 2013

    Small Arms

    Monthly Forecast

    A high-level meeting on small arms is expected to be held at the initiative of Australia as President of the Council in September. Although Australia is having federal elections on 7 September, the elected prime minister is expected to preside over the meeting. The Secretary-General may brief the Council.

  • Council members are currently negotiating a draft resolution on the prevention of the proliferation of arms in Libya and the region, particularly man-portable surface-to-air missiles. An early version of the draft text was circulated by Russia to P5 members last...

  • June 2011

    Drug Trafficking and Small Arms

    Monthly Forecast

    A debate on drug trafficking and small arms is expected to be held at the initiative of Gabon as Council president for the month of June.

  • 21 April 2011

    Insights on Small Arms

    What's in Blue

    The Secretary-General’s report on small arms and light weapons was circulated yesterday (Wednesday, 20 April). The Council is expecting a briefing on Monday, 25 April, possibly by the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Sergio Duarte. The Secretary-General’s report recommends that...

  • April 2011

    Small Arms

    Monthly Forecast

    A report from the Secretary-General on small arms and light weapons is expected in April. A briefing is likely but at the time of writing it was unclear whether the Council would take any decisions.

  • April 2010

    Small Arms

    Monthly Forecast

    The Secretary-General is expected to submit a report on small arms in the coming weeks. Given the recent Council debate on this issue, and the Council presidential statement adopted on 19 March, no Council action is expected.

  • At the initiative of Gabon, which holds the Council presidency in March, a debate will be held on 19 March on the impact of illicit small arms trafficking on peace and security in the Central African region.

  • This is our second Cross-Cutting Report on disarmament. It follows the report published on 1 September 2009 which dealt with the Council’s approach to weapons of mass destruction. Our series of Cross-Cutting Reports are designed to follow thematic issues on the Council’s agenda and track the way in which thematic principles are applied by the Council in individual country-specific situations. Disarmament is the thematic issue which has been longest on the Council’s agenda. It was the UN Charter itself, in 1945, which in article 26 gave the Council this mandate. In November 2008, at the initiative of Costa Rica, the Security Council returned to this wide and challenging responsibility. Following that debate Security Council Report began preparation of a detailed study of all aspects of the Council’s role in disarmament. This second part of the study addresses the Council’s role in respect of conventional weapons and small arms. It also looks specifically, in a cross-cutting way, at the impact on disarmament at the local level deriving from Council arms embargoes and mandates for disarmament and demobilisation in the field of former combatants. There is some inevitable overlap between the two reports, but due to the complexity of the issues and the timing of the Security Council debate in September on nuclear weapons, it seemed wise to publish them separately rather than as one single study.

  • Update Report in Word Format and PDF Format Expected Council Action Costa Rica, in its capacity as president of the Security Council in November, has called for a high level open debate on 19 November on “Strengthening collective security through...

  • 18 April 2008

    Update Report No. 3: Small Arms

    Update Report

    An open debate on small arms is scheduled for 25 April, the first such debate since March 2006. A report from the Secretary-General is due on 21 April. (Postscript-the report was released on 17 April) (S/2008/258).

  • April 2008

    Small Arms

    Monthly Forecast

    A report from the Secretary-General on small arms is likely to be submitted to the Council in April. At press time, the incoming president, South Africa, was tentatively planning a debate on small arms on 25 April. It is possible that regional organisations will be invited to participate in addition to Council members.

  • 13 April 2007

    Update Report No. 3: Small Arms

    Update Report

    Our prediction that a presidential statement on small arms was likely to be adopted in March was premature. Although almost all Council members now agree that some Council action is necessary, consensus continues to elude Council members.

  • March 2006

    Small Arms

    Monthly Forecast

    The Council will discuss the Secretary-General's report on small arms in an open debate and it is expected to adopt a resolution or a presidential statement addressing the problem. An Arria formula meeting is also planned.