The Programme of Action on Small Arms: Incomplete without the Inclusion of Ammunition (2017)

The exclusion of ammunition is an obvious anomaly in the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (PoA). It undermines common action by UN Member States to achieve the objectives of the PoA. This can be corrected at the forthcoming Third UN Review Conference on the PoA to be held in New York, 18-29 June 2018.

This paper argues that unless the PoA includes appropriate measures to combat the illicit trade in the ammunition used in small arms and light weapons (SALW), implementation of the PoA will be incomplete. Ultimately, States’ efforts “to reduce the human suffering caused by the illicit trade in SALW” will be unsuccessful. Also, as outlined below, the dangers of unsafe storage warrant specific references to ammunition in the PoA.

The text of the POA agreed in 2001 did not explicitly include ammunition in the scope of the agreement, because a few sceptical States were opposed to such inclusion at the time. Nonetheless, many States agree that the commitment to “prevent, curb and eradicate the illicit trade in SALW in all its aspects” should reflect reality by encompassing not only weapons but also the ammunition fired from those weapons.