Behind the Curve: New Technologies, New Control Challenges, an Occasional Paper from the Small Arms Survey, looks at three recent developments in small arms manufacturing, technology, and design—polymer frames, modular weapons, and 3D printing—as well as the use of new technologies for improved small arms control.

Translated into Arabic by the EU-LAS project.

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A significant reduction in the trafficking of illicit arms is one of the targets being proposed as part of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the new development framework to come into effect after the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which are increasingly used by insurgents, have devastating effects on government forces and civilians. Between 2011 and 2013, more than 4,300 IED events in 66 countries resulted in an estimated 65,400 casualties, the vast majority of them civilian.

Four countries—Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Syria—bear an especially high incidence of IED attacks, accounting for a total of more than 3,300 incidents and more than 51,000 casualties during that period.

International and regional instruments to control the illicit trade of small arms specifically call for states to designate individuals and administrative processes to help them attain established objectives. For example, both the 2001 Programme of Action on Small Arms (PoA) and the 2005 International Tracing Instrument (ITI) include provisions for each UN member state to establish or designate a national point of contact (NPC) to act as a liaison with other states concerning their implementation (UNGA, 2001, art. II.5; 2005, art. VI.25).

Unplanned explosions at munitions sites (UEMS) are a significant safety concern for governments and a major security challenge for the international community. The Small Arms Survey has documented more than 500 such incidents in 100 countries over the 35-year period from 1979 to 2013.

South Sudan is saturated with weapons following the long civil war prior to its independence in 2011. The weapons that were once in the hands of the rebel forces now officially belong to the newly developed state defence and security forces. In comparable situations elsewhere, a by-product of restructuring such forces is a surplus of small arms, light weapons, and ammunition. The demand for armed personnel and weaponry is clearly at its height during periods of conflict. As conflicts abate, however, many arms remain in circulation.

Marking is a fundamental element of any tracing system. It allows for the unique identification of weapons and the establishment of associated records. Universal requirements for marking are outlined in the UN’s International Tracing Instrument (ITI, or, in full, the ‘International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons’).

Effective control of small arms is largely dependent upon each state’s capacity and willingness to design and implement appropriate legislation, regulatory procedures, and policies. Various international and regional frameworks—some of which are legally binding—set agendas, call for or require concrete actions, and encourage best practices in this area. In many of these contexts, states have committed themselves to issuing reports on progress made in implementation. Such reports also help to guide the matching of needs with resources.

On 2 April 2013 the UN General Assembly adopted the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), an international instrument designed to regulate the transfer of conventional arms, including small arms and light weapons. The ATT opens for signature on 3 June 2013, and it will come into effect 90 days after being ratified by 50 UN member states.

In 2011–12 the Small Arms Survey examined the weapon-marking initiative under way among member states of the Regional Centre on Small Arms in the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States (RECSA), the first regional marking initiative of its kind. Making a Mark: Reporting on Firearms Marking in the RECSA Region—a Special Report published in partnership with RECSA—describes the initiative,