December 9, 2023.
This factsheet was produced with the support of the Small Arms Survey and draws from the working paper presented by Spain, Mexico and the Small Arms Survey to the Ninth Conference of States parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (CSP9), 21 – 25 August 2023, entitled “Mitigating the risk of armed violence against people on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) through the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)”.
At the last Biennial Meeting of States on the United Nations Programme of Action on small arms and light weapons (UNPoA) (BMS8) in July 2022, States agreed to “take account of the differential impact of the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons on women, men, girls and boys, and to strengthen or, where they do not exist, develop response mechanisms to address that impact.” While gender mainstreaming is one of the policy areas in which States have made the most significant progress in the implementation of the UNPoA, this approach is not fully inclusive.
In non-conflict zones, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex and gender diverse persons (LGBTQI+) face differential impacts from the illicit trafficking of firearms due to discriminatory laws and deeply embedded homophobic and transphobic socio-cultural norms. In addition, intersections with other forms of discrimination based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin put certain groups of LGBTQI+ persons at even greater risk of hate-motivated and gender-based violence. Threats of and actual firearms misuse can also facilitate human rights violations perpetrated against people based on their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and sexual characteristics (SOGIESC). This includes killings, violent attacks, torture, arbitrary detention, forced marriage, denial of rights to assembly and expression and discrimination in accessing healthcare, education, employment and housing.
Addressing violence perpetrated on the basis of SOGIESC is thus also essential for the UNPoA in order to achieve its objective of reducing “the human suffering caused by the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.”