The U.N. General Assembly’s Third Biennial Meeting of States on Small Arms occurred in New York in July 2008. Members discussed the adoption of a Programme of Action. One goal of the Programme of Action is to help states “identify and trace, in a timely and reliable manner, illicit small arms and light weapons.” The plan seeks to allow greater cooperation among States to implement the Programme, including sharing technical information and ideas on domestic legislation. The agreement itself, the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, was published in 2001. It discusses the overlap between small arms and the lives of women and children. (UN Document A/CONF.192/15, I.6.) The document lays out methods of preventing, combating and eradicating the trade at national, regional, and international levels.
Other topics in the 2008 report include illicit brokering and the management and disposal of stockpiled weapons.
Compiled from: Third Biennial Meeting of States to Consider the Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, (A/CONF.192/BMS/2008/L.3/Rev.1) (14-18 July 2008).
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