The Briefing Paper from the Security Assessment in North Africa (SANA) project examines the capacities of different actors to monitor illicit arms flows in the Sahel region. Monitoring illicit arms flows is critical to measuring states’ progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—especially Target 16.4, which calls for a significant reduction of illicit arms flows by 2030.

Le monitoring des armes au Sahel: les institutions forensiques nationales, une Note d'information du projet Évaluation de la sécurité en Afrique du Nord (SANA), analyse les capacités et les pratiques des institutions forensiques de trois États du Sahel francophone – la Mauritanie, le Niger et le Tchad – qui comptent, parmi leur personnel, des experts particulièrement compétents sur la question des armes à feu et des munitions à l’échelle locale.

As part of a European Union project designed to support preparations for RevCon3 (held in June 2018 in New York), the Small Arms Survey facilitated discussions at four thematic symposia in October–November 2017. They focused on:

Criminals purchase weapons unable to fire live ammunition legally and at low costs across Europe, converting them into lethal firearms with little to no training or expertise. The Small Arms Survey report From Legal to Lethal: Converted Firearms in Europe provides a detailed examination on the topic.
 

Arms Control 2.0: Operationalizing SDG Target 16.4 describes how the implementation of international arms control instruments supports the aim of reducing illicit arms flows in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 16.4.

The Sixth Biennial Meeting of States (BMS6) was the final meeting before the Third Review Conference of the UN Small Arms Programme of Action (PoA), scheduled for June 2018, and the first since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Taking account of the SDGs and other new developments, the main task for BMS6 was to prepare the ground for the Review Conference.

Measuring Illicit Arms Flows: Ukraine is the fourth case study in a series examining the measurement of illicit arms flows in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 16.

Experts charged with monitoring United Nations arms embargoes identify numerous organizational, operational, and political obstacles to their work, according to Monitoring UN Arms Embargoes: Observations from Panels of Experts, a new study released today by the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey.

In September 2015 UN member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which replaced the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (2000–15) with a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. While reaffirming core MDG aims, such as poverty reduction and the promotion of health care and education, these SDGs and targets tackle a much broader range of factors driving underdevelopment, and clearly connect development with peace, security, and arms control.