The United Nations has warned that the unchecked spread of over one billion small arms and light weapons worldwide continues to fuel violence, terrorism, and organised crime, especially across Africa.
Director and Deputy High Representative of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, Adedeji Ebo, delivered the warning during a briefing to the Security Council in New York. He said illicit arms trafficking has become a key driver of instability, sustaining conflicts and criminal networks in multiple regions.
More than one billion firearms are in circulation globally. The illicit trade and misuse of small arms and light weapons fuels armed violence, terrorism, and organised crime,” Ebo said.
He noted that weapons diverted from national stockpiles or supply chains often end up in the hands of non-state armed groups. Ebo urged the Security Council to integrate small arms controls into peacekeeping, peace-building, and sanctions monitoring frameworks.
“The weapons produced and transferred today risk fuelling the instability of tomorrow,” he warned, calling for stronger stockpile management and compliance with arms embargoes.
The UN official revealed that in 2024 alone, at least 48,000 civilians were killed in conflicts, with small arms responsible for nearly a third of the deaths. He described controlling small arms as “a prerequisite for sustainable peace.”
The African Union’s High Representative for Silencing the Guns, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, also described the proliferation of small arms as “a cancer” driving instability from the Sahel to the Great Lakes region. He highlighted ongoing atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region as evidence of the devastating impact.
Roraima Andriani, UN Special Representative to INTERPOL, said illicit firearms trafficking is now deeply tied to organised crime networks that use weapons to protect illegal economies. INTERPOL’s global iARMS database has recorded over two million lost or stolen weapons, aiding cross-border operations to recover arms and dismantle trafficking rings.
