Small arms: Stockpile management

Many States lack thorough planning and consistent attention to safe storage, handling, transportation and disposal of weaponry. Poor national inventory practices mean that surpluses cannot be identified, leading to build-ups of frequently unnecessary stockpiles.

Stocks are susceptible to diversion if they are not appropriately secured and managed. Weapons diversion – also a key concept in the Arms Trade Treaty – tends to sustain armed non-State actors, terrorist organizations and organized criminal networks.

Identify surpluses

Key to adequate stockpile management is the identification of surpluses: the weapons and ammunition that do not constitute an operational need. When surpluses are not recognized, the entirety of the national weapons stockpile may continue to be seen as of operational value. Although not used, weapons and ammunition surpluses thus continue to fill warehouses and to pose a grave year-on-year risk.
Defective stockpile management has been assessed as the norm rather than the exception in many developing countries and in States recovering from armed conflict.

In those circumstances, it is not only surplus stocks that should be the focus of attention, but the lack of appropriate policy behind this situation.

Governments remain unaware of surpluses;
their national stockpiles remain a risk to public safety;
stored weapons and ammunition continue to be a source of illicit weaponry used in crime and armed violence.

Destruction is the preferred solution for surplus stockpiles of arms and ammunition, not only from a safety and security perspective, but also when considering the costs of destruction over the costs associated with safe long-term storage and maintenance.

Weapons and ammunition are hardware – physical commodities on which, in principle, measurable action can be undertaken. Warehouses can be upgraded, surpluses can be destroyed, illicit arms can be collected and serial numbers can be recorded and traced. It may be difficult to undertake these actions; but the concrete character of weapons management should warrant unrelenting attention.

Identify surpluses

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