10 November 2025
They urged coordinated global
action to stop the illicit flows that are driving conflict,
organized crime and displacement – from Haiti to the
Sahel.
Adedeji Ebo, deputy disarmament chief,
highlighted that despite recent steps to strengthen arms
control frameworks, “more than one billion firearms are in
circulation globally,” sustaining conflict, terrorism and
criminal networks across multiple regions.
“The
illicit trade and misuse of small arms and light weapons
fuels armed violence, terrorism and organized crime,” he
said.
“Weapons diverted from national stockpiles –
or at any point throughout the supply chain – could end up
in the hands of non-State armed
groups.”
Proliferation of ‘ghost
guns’
He also pointed to the growing spread of
3D-printed “ghost guns” without serial numbers,
increasingly found in illicit markets in Western Europe and
Latin America.
The human toll is stark, he said. In
2024, the UN recorded at least 48,000 conflict-related
civilian deaths, with small arms responsible for up to 30
per cent in some contexts.
“These abuses are
preventable,” he stressed, calling for stronger stockpile
controls, tracing systems and compliance with arms
embargoes.
‘A borderless threat’
Roraima
Ana Andriani, UN Special Representative to INTERPOL – the
international police and crime fighting organization –
warned that illicit firearms trafficking is now deeply
enmeshed with cross border organized crime, as networks use
weapons to control territory, protect illicit economies and
expand influence.
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“This is a transnational chain of
violence, that can only be addressed through transnational
cooperation,” she said.
INTERPOL’s global iARMS
database contains more than two million records of lost,
stolen and trafficked weapons, she noted, supporting
multinational operations that have seized thousands of
firearms and dismantled networks tied to terrorism,
trafficking and illegal mining.
But she warned that
policing alone is insufficient.
“No measure taken in
isolation can prevent the flow of such weapons across the
globe,” she said, urging the Council to explicitly
incorporate INTERPOL’s role into sanctions and arms
embargo mandates.
African region under acute
strain
Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the African Union High
Representative for Silencing the Guns, said small arms
proliferation is “a cancer” driving instability across
the continent, from the Sahel to the Great Lakes
region.
“These weapons are being used to unleash
horrific violence and suffering in the Darfur region of
Sudan,” he said, referring to the ongoing atrocities
reported in El Fasher.
He said controlling small arms
is “a prerequisite for sustainable peace” and
highlighted AU-led efforts to harmonise stockpile
management, support amnesty and disarmament
initiatives.
Africa Amnesty Month and related
programmes have led to the destruction of tens of thousands
of weapons, he said, but the scale of the problem remains
vast.
Haiti: Armed gangs controlling
territory
Arnoux Descardes, Executive Director of the
Haitian civil society organization VDH, described the acute
impact of illicit firearms in Haiti, where armed groups
control major urban areas and key transport
routes.
“The trafficking of illegal firearms is a
multiplier of the crisis,” he said. Between 270,000 and
500,000 firearms are estimated to be in circulation in the
country, but only about 45,000 are legally registered, he
noted.
“The proliferation of small arms in Haiti
fuels insecurity and paralyses social and economic life,”
he said, calling for stronger border controls and
disarmament programmes.
Call for sustained,
coordinated action
Mr. Ebo concluded by warning that
“the weapons produced and transferred today risk fuelling
the instability of tomorrow.”
He urged the Security
Council to integrate small arms controls into peace
operations, peacebuilding strategies and sanctions
monitoring.
“Our responsibility is clear,” he
said. “We must prevent the diversion and illicit
manufacturing of small arms and light weapons or we will
face the consequences of deepening
insecurity.”
