By: Hannah Smith, Katie Addinall, and Liam Blunt

Europe and the UK along with it, have some of the strictest laws regarding the possession of firearms. However, this alone does not stop the use of firearms in crime; partly due to the prevalence of modified and converted firearms seen throughout the continent which are being used by criminals, from gang-related street violence to terror attacks.

Modified and converted firearms are extremely popular with criminals as they are easy to obtain and cheap. …

Par: André Desmarais

Introduction

Au printemps 2020, je me suis rendu à Conakry, en Guinée, pour présenter, en marge d’une conférence, les résultats d’une étude sur le monitoring des armes à feu en Guinée. À cette occasion, j’avais prévu de rester sur place pour dispenser à l’équipe de l’unité régionale de police scientifique de la gendarmerie un module de formation à la balistique judiciaire. La pandémie de COVID-19 en a décidé autrement, et m’a amené à donner à distance cette formation sur laquelle je reviendrai plus en détail.

Certains des bénéficiaires de cette formation ont rapidement pu mettre en pratique les…

By: Nicolas Florquin

By: Miles Vining

Introduction

What options do military governments have when international arms embargoes disrupt small arms procurement? The nation of Myanmar has been governed by military decree in some fashion since the democratically elected Prime Minister U Nu was ousted by General Ne Win in 1962. This blog post outlines Myanmar’s response to European Union and United States arms embargoes, and how the country turned to other suppliers to help develop its own arms industry. It will also examine the type of small arms produced in Myanmar as a result of this changing dynamic during the past two decades.

Until…

Small Arms Survey Online Forum Inventory 12

By: Lionel Kosirnik and Bryan Mutiso

As the devastating health and economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic continue to be felt around the world, the impact of the crisis on peace and security in Africa and more specifically on the African Union’s (AU) Silencing the guns initiative, is beginning to emerge. The 12th panel of the Small Arms Survey’s 2020 online forum ‘Taking stock of action on the illicit small arms trade’ looked at the challenges posed to peace and security in Africa by the pandemic, explored ways of moving forward with the…

Small Arms Survey Online Forum Inventory 11

By: Emilia Dungel and Paul Holtom

Discussions on new dynamics and approaches to consider at the multilateral and national levels for tackling the illicit small arms trade should unfold in parallel as new challenges emerge. This blog post gives an overview of the main points raised during the high-level panel in the eleventh session of the Small Arms Survey 2020 online forum ‘Taking stock of action on the illicit small arms trade’. …

Small Arms Survey Online Forum Inventory 10

By: Emilia Dungel and Paul Holtom

The International Tracing Instrument (ITI) was adopted in 2005 and outlines requirements for tracing illicit small arms and light weapons in a timely and reliable manner. Since the time of its adoption, however, some new methods in design and manufacture of small arms and light weapons have emerged that pose new challenges in terms of marking and tracing. …

Small Arms Survey Online Forum Inventory 9

By: Tak Mashiko, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs

In the UN Programme of Action on small arms (PoA) and International Tracing Instrument (ITI) framework, States agreed to submit biennial national reports on their implementation efforts to the United Nations. National reporting is the single most effective mechanism to:

• measure progress and gaps in the PoA/ITI implementation;
• build confidence among States through information sharing;
• identify national priorities and assistance needs;
• support reporting on progress made on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Target 16.4; and
• reaffirm States’ commitment to the PoA process.

Since 2001, 174…