United Nations-. The fourth United Nations Conference on the fight against illicit small arms and light weapons will open its days today focused on renewing the commitment to reduce their flows.
The event, which will last until June 28, also seeks to gather consensus for a final document focused on promoting more actions to combat, prevent and eradicate the illegal production, trade and diversion of these devices throughout the planet. .
The UN thus seeks to collectively address trafficking in all its aspects, while warning of its devastating impact on sustainable peace and development.
According to the agency, illicit small arms and light weapons fuel and sustain armed conflicts around the world while contributing to cyclical violence, humanitarian disasters and forced displacement and can cause food insecurity.
Most cases of sexual violence related to these confrontations also involve this type of weaponry.
Even in conflict-free environments around the world, its negative impact is undeniable.
Figures cited by the United Nations estimate that the total number of people who lost their lives as a result of intentional killings far exceeds deaths in armed conflicts from 2015 to 2021.
In 2021 alone, 45 percent – 260 thousand victims – of violent deaths were committed with firearms, not counting suicides.
Small arms and light weapons are also used in terrorist attacks, in criminal activities, by organized crime and gangs, and to commit domestic violence, including sexual and gender-based violence.
The impact and control of this type of ammunition also appears among the topics of the upcoming Future Summit, scheduled for September of this year during the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly.
Looking ahead to the meeting, the organization hopes that the debates begun this Thursday can help pave the way for commitments on the control of small arms and light weapons as part of the Pact for the Future, the final document of the Summit.
