Disarmament in Review
From 18 to 28 June 2024, States convened at the United Nations in New York for the Fourth Conference to Review the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its Aspects and its International Tracing Instrument. These are the universal frameworks dedicated to countering threats of the illicit manufacture, transfer and circulation of these weapons. The Review Conference, which takes place every six years, provides a critical opportunity for States to renew their commitments and develop an action plan for the following six years to collectively address the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.
Gender perspectives in the context of small arms and light weapons
While the gender dimensions of the acquisition, trade and use of small arms and light weapons did not feature in the Programme of Action when States adopted it in 2001, it has become clear that the proliferation and effects of these weapons are not gender blind.
Data from 2021 shows that 91 per cent of victims of firearms-related deaths that year were men and boys. Men are also more at risk of being injured or killed by a firearm in both conflict and non-conflict settings, including through suicide.
Conversely, women and girls constitute two-thirds of victims of intimate partner violence, a significant proportion of which is perpetrated with small arms. Women and girls also constitute 95 per cent of victims of conflict-related sexual violence and recent research by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) indicates that, in some States, firearms are used in the perpetration of between 70 and 90 per cent of instances of conflict-related sexual violence.
Progress and division on gender issues in the Conference outcomes
The Fourth Review Conference marked a significant development in States’ recognition of the gendered impacts of these weapons, as reflected in numerous national and joint statements. A joint statement on gender were delivered on behalf of 46 States on 19 June, coinciding with the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, with a further joint statement delivered on 28 June on behalf of 61 States. These statements called on States to strengthen gender-related language in the outcome document that supports evidence-based, good practices in effective implementation of the Programme of Action.
Ms Blanka Glasenhardt, First Committee Delegate, Permanent Mission of Croatia to the United Nations, delivering the Joint Statement on Gender on behalf of 61 States on 28 June 2024
States’ collective efforts culminated in the adoption of an Outcome Document that built on language negotiated during the Biennial Meetings of States in 2021 and 2022 and integrates gender perspectives throughout its political declaration and action-oriented measures, and included a standalone section on the differential impact of small arms on women, men, boys and girls.
Discussions on gender and its integration in the Outcome Document were not without contention. Throughout the two weeks of negotiations, different views emerged on the role that gender should play in disarmament and arms control discussions, with several States noting their discontent with the document’s gender-related sections. Other States expressed disappointment with some of the suggestions made that did reach consensus including on diversity and the notion of masculinities in small arms acquisition in use. While States ultimately adopted the document by consensus, the Russian Federation disassociated itself from its gender-related outcomes.
Key gender-related outcomes
States made significant strides in the Outcome Document by calling for mainstreaming gender perspectives in the design and, for the first time, implementation of gender-responsive policies and programming on small arms and light weapons. Through the document, States resolve to:
- Understand the gendered drivers and impacts of small arms and light weapons proliferation by recognizing the roles, norms and expectations that drive women and men to acquire illicit arms, and the gendered impacts that this produces, including through their use in acts of gender-based violence and conflict-related sexual violence.
- Develop evidence-based and coordinated policy approaches through the collection of data disaggregated by sex, age, disability, and other characteristics as appropriate, and better coordination of arms control and disarmament policies with national policies on women, peace and security.
- Enhance women’s equal full and effective participation and, for the first time in a disarmament outcome document to address persistent barriers to women’s full, equal, meaningful and effective participation in implementation processes related to the Programme of Action, including at a leadership level.
Ambassador Maritza Chan Valverde, President of the Fourth Review Conference, together with women delegates to the Fourth Review Conference.
Gender discussions on the Conference margins
Progress on gender issues in the Outcome Document was matched with robust discussions on this topic by States and civil society.
Prior to the Conference, Canada, Chile, Germany, Ireland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, together with the Small Arms Survey and UNIDIR, submitted a Working Paper on Prospects for Gender-Transformative Small Arms Control, which highlighted the benefits brought by gender perspective to small arms control policy-making. Civil society strongly advocated during the NGO segment of discussions for strengthening the links between the Programme of Action with the women, peace and security agenda, enhancing women’s participation, better disaggregated data collection, increased support, financial and capacity building, for women’s organizations, and highlighted to the need to support gender in all its diversities.
These themes crossed over into three gender-related side events on the margins of the conference.
The Gender Equality Network for Small Arms Control (GENSAC), the Parliamentary Forum on Small Arms and Light Weapons and the Government of Chile organized a side event focusing on ways to advance implementation of the Programme of Action and the Women, Peace and Security agenda though parliamentary action and civil society engagement. Key outcomes included agreement on the need to leverage the role of parliamentarians to implement gender-sensitive responses under both of these policy frameworks; and the role of civil society to activate national, inter-regional and international cooperation in arms control and gender equality measures. In her closing address, Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, reflected on the need to mainstream gender dimensions in small arms control measures and emphasised the value of youth perspectives.
At a side event convened by the South Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC) and the UN Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), Member State representatives from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Guatemala and Chile shared how gender dynamics manifest in patterns of violence and victimisation in their regions. For example, in South Eastern and Eastern Europe, 80 per cent of women killed with firearms are killed in a domestic violence context but domestic remains the least reported crime type. Speakers shared practical steps their States had taken to create more gender-responsive legislation, policies and programmes, ranging from innovative technology solutions to support greater reporting of gender-based violence, to the creation of gender focal points in national small arms commissions.
Finally, the government of Germany, UNIDIR and the Small Arms Survey organised a side event on advancing gender perspectives in the Programme of Action, with member State representatives from Nepal, Liberia, Argentina, and civil society. Discussions coalesced around the importance of data in responding to drivers of the acquisition and use of small arms and light weapons, which are often intersectional, and to bring national policies on arms control and women’s equality and security closer together. Ambassador Maritza Chan Valverde, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the UN and President of the Review Conference, underscored the importance of bringing gender issues into processes, and brining small arms issues into gender issues, such as in the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
