'As the devastating health and economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic continue to be felt around the world, the impact of the crisis on peace and security in Africa and more specifically on the African Union’s (AU) Silencing the guns initiative, is beginning to emerge.

'Discussions on new dynamics and approaches to consider at the multilateral and national levels for tackling the illicit small arms trade should unfold in parallel as new challenges emerge. This blog post gives an overview of the main points raised during the high-level panel in the eleventh session of the Small Arms Survey 2020 online forum ‘Taking stock of action on the illicit small arms trade’.

'The International Tracing Instrument (ITI) was adopted in 2005 and outlines requirements for tracing illicit small arms and light weapons in a timely and reliable manner. Since the time of its adoption, however, some new methods in design and manufacture of small arms and light weapons have emerged that pose new challenges in terms of marking and tracing.

'In the UN Programme of Action on small arms (PoA) and International Tracing Instrument (ITI) framework, States agreed to submit biennial national reports on their implementation efforts to the United Nations. National reporting is the single most effective mechanism to:

'Les plans d’action nationaux (PAN) sont un outil essentiel pour lutter contre la prolifération illicite des armes légères et de petit calibre (ALPC). Ils permettent d’établir, de manière claire et concise, les priorités des États en matière de gestion des ALPC. Le Small Arms Survey apporte son soutien aux processus d’élaboration et d’évaluation des plans d’action nationaux de plusieurs pays, notamment en Afrique...'

'The increasing recognition to the role of gender perspectives in arms control; has produced implicit and explicit requirements to incorporate gender into arms control architecture, instruments, policies, and programmes. Much work has been done—especially since the official dawn of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in 2000—yet much remains when it comes to translating principles to action.

'Regional organizations and their member states have developed and promoted small arms control instruments, best practice guides, and mechanisms to enable assistance and cooperation to prevent, detect, and address the illicit proliferation of small arms. The sixth panel of the Small Arms Survey 2020 online forum ‘Taking stock of action on the illicit small arms trade’ provided a space for practitioners working in the Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe to share their knowledge...'

National Action Plans (NAPs) are critical for systematically and effectively implementing, coordinating, monitoring, and evaluating small arms control measures within states. NAPs clearly elaborate national priorities and facilitate coordination between national government agencies and key stakeholders, as well as with external partners and donors. The fifth panel of the Small Arms Survey 2020 online forum ‘Taking stock of action on the illicit small arms trade’ brought together actors from the national, regional, and international levels to share experiences from their work on NAPs.

'The League of Arab States (LAS), INTERPOL, the Small Arms Survey, and the World Customs Organization (WCO) — supported by the EU — are working together on a joint project to combat the illicit trade in, and proliferation of, small arms and light weapons in LAS Member States.

'Next year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects (PoA). The opening panel of the Small Arms Survey 2020 online forum ‘Taking stock of action on the illicit small arms trade’ therefore reflected on the impact of this landmark document on action to address illicit small arms proliferation during the past two decades. This blog post provides a short snapshot of the opening panel discussions on the PoA achievements thus far...'