Joint Meeting at UN Headquarters to Address Nexus between Illicit Flow of Small Arms, Light Weapons and Sustainable Development, 17 March

To comprehensively tackle the devastating impact of the illicit flow of small arms and light weapons on sustainable development, the President of the seventy-ninth session of the UN General Assembly, Philemon Yang, and the President of the UN Economic and Social Council, Bob Rae, in collaboration with the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, will convene a meeting on Monday, 17 March, at UN Headquarters in New York.

This joint meeting, entitled “Small arms and light weapons control for preventing violence and advancing sustainable development”, will be an opportunity to engage with all relevant stakeholders to discuss how small arms and light weapons control can become a part of policies on development, violence prevention and human rights protection.

In 2023, violence linked to small arms and light weapons cost the global economy $22.6 billion, which exceeded official development assistance (ODA) for education, which was $14.4 billion, and for health, which was $21.8 billion.

Additionally, women and girls continue to disproportionately bear the brunt of the impact of the use of small arms and light weapons.  It is estimated that between 70 and 90 per cent of incidents of conflict-related sexual violence involve small arms and light weapons.

Discussions will focus on the impacts of illicit small arms and light weapons in Africa, the integration of small arms and light weapons control into national development strategies within the Latin America and the Caribbean region, armed violence reduction in other regions, youth perspectives on the challenges posed by small arms control and the gender dimensions of small arms and light weapons.

What:  Joint meeting on small arms and light weapons control for preventing violence and advancing sustainable development

When:  Monday, 17 March, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. EDT

Where: Trusteeship Council Chamber, United Nations Headquarters, New York

Follow live on UN WebTV.

Format:  Both President Yang and President Rae will deliver opening remarks, followed by a series of panel discussions.

Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu will provide concluding remarks.

More information on the event, including the programme, is available here.

Media Accreditation

Accredited media are welcome to attend by registering here or contacting the UN Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit at malu@un.org.

Media Contacts

Mariam Shaikh, Adviser/Social and Digital Media/Media, email:  mariam.shaikh@un.org

Paul Simon, Communication Focal Point, Economic and Social Council Secretariat, email:  simonp@un.org