Remarks by the President of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly
Mr. Philemon Yang
at the Joint General Assembly – Economic and Social Council Meeting on ¡°Small arms and light weapons control for preventing violence and advancing sustainable development¡±
Monday, 17 March 2025
[As Delivered]
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning,
Thank you for joining today¡¯s joint General Assembly – Economic and Social Council Meeting. This meeting is about small arms and light weapons control for preventing violence and advancing sustainable development.
I thank H.E. Mr. Bob Rae, President of the Economic and Social Council, for co-convening this important meeting.
I extend my appreciation to Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. I appreciate her office¡¯s technical support and collaboration in preparing and convening this meeting.
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
This is not a meeting to review progress made in the implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons. The Programme of Action has a dedicated cycle of meetings for that purpose.
Our objective today is to focus on the destructive impact of the illicit flows and misuse of small arms and light weapons on development.
This is a topic of great interest to both the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. We recognize that it is relevant to the work of the First and Second Committees of the United Nations General Assembly. We, therefore, take pride in bringing together the delegates of these two Committees to search for solutions to a common problem.
Because of their easy availability and relatively cheap nature, small arms and light weapons can be acquired by individuals and groups ¨C outside of Government services. No state actors easily acquire these weapons. The illicit trafficking and misuse of these weapons is the primary driver of instability and conflict across the world.
It is estimated that 580,000 people died violently in 2021, half of them by firearm.
Indeed, small arms constitute?the weapon of choice in nearly half of all homicides globally.
Statistics also show that women and girls are disproportionately affected by the use of small arms. In fact, it is estimated that between 70 and 90 per cent of incidents of sexual violence during conflict involve small arms and light weapons.
In conflict and post-conflict situations, such as in Haiti, South Sudan, Sudan and many parts of the Sahel, illicit small arms and light weapons jeopardize peace and sow the seeds of future instability, creating a vicious cycle of violence and conflict that obstructs sustainable development.
The widespread availability of these weapons fuels crime, undermines governance, and hinders access to essential services. Such arms jeapordize education and healthcare, which perpetuates poverty and deepens instability.
The economic toll is equally staggering: in 2023, violence linked to these weapons is estimated to have cost the global economy $22.6 billion.
Imagine what these resources could do if they were deployed towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Excellences,
Mesdames et messieurs,
Le d¨¦fi des armes l¨¦g¨¨res et de petit calibre n’est pas nouveau.
Des m¨¦canismes et des instruments internationaux et r¨¦gionaux ont ¨¦t¨¦ sp¨¦cifiquement cr¨¦¨¦s pour faire face aux probl¨¨mes engendr¨¦s par ces armes. Ces instruments comprennent, entre autres, le Programme d¡¯action sur les armes l¨¦g¨¨res et de petit calibre, le Protocole sur les armes ¨¤ feu ou encore le Trait¨¦ sur le commerce des armes.
Cependant, la mise en ?uvre de ces instruments pr¨¦sente encore des insuffisances qui ne permettent pas l¡¯endiguement du ph¨¦nom¨¨ne.
Nous esp¨¦rons que la discussion d’aujourd’hui sera une occasion de revitaliser le d¨¦bat sur les flux illicites et le mauvais usage des armes l¨¦g¨¨res et de petit calibre et leurs effets sur le d¨¦veloppement socio-¨¦conomique.
Nous devons trouver de nouvelles fa?ons collaboratives d’aborder efficacement et de mani¨¨re significative cette probl¨¦matique.
Nous devons aussi nous engager ¨¤ mettre en ?uvre pleinement les?m¨¦canismes et instruments?disponibles.
Le Pacte pour l’avenir que nous avions adopt¨¦ en septembre 2025 nous y engage.
Dans ce Pacte, les ?tats membres ont clairement reconnu que les efforts de d¨¦sarmement et de contr?le des armes sont des ¨¦l¨¦ments fondamentaux du cadre de paix et de s¨¦curit¨¦ des Nations Unies.
Les Etats membres ont ¨¦galement soulign¨¦ le lien entre ces efforts et ceux en mati¨¨re de d¨¦veloppement, de promotion des droits de l’homme et d’action humanitaire.
En effet, dans le Pacte, les ?tats membres se sont sp¨¦cifiquement engag¨¦s ¨¤?honorer?les engagements existants.
Cela inclut le renforcement des efforts nationaux et internationaux pour combattre, pr¨¦venir et ¨¦liminer le commerce illicite des armes l¨¦g¨¨res et de petit calibre, de leurs pi¨¨ces et munitions sous?tous leurs aspects.
Profitons de cet engagement renouvel¨¦ pour explorer ensemble des nouvelles pistes pouvant nous conduire vers des r¨¦sultats concrets dans notre combat commun pour l¡¯¨¦tablissement d¡¯un environnement propice pour le d¨¦veloppement durable.?
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
In many parts of the world, the issue of small arms and light weapons is not only linked to insecurity and the corresponding negative impacts on development.
It is also linked to the painful fact that arms purchases can easily reach 30% of the gross domestic product, particularly in conflict and post-conflict countries.
Given the enormity of this share, we simply must ask the following questions: Can weapons guarantee true security and sustainable development? Should we not give priority to and fully utilize dialogue to solve our problems?
Today, I invite delegations to focus on two areas:
First, the dangers to development caused by all forms of small arms-related insecurity; and
Second, the dangers to development caused by excessive military expenditures.
Article 26 of the United Nations Charter calls for the least diversion of the world¡¯s human and economic resources to armaments.
I strongly suggest that you find viable proposals for operationalizing the relationship between disarmament and development.
I warmly welcome and look forward to the invaluable insights of our panellists today in articulating the questions above.
Our discussion should include issues such as:
- The impact of illicit small arms and light weapons in Africa;
- The integration of security and peacebuilding efforts into development strategies in Latin America and the Caribbean;
- Youth perspectives on the?challenges of arms control; and
- Gender dimensions of small arms and light weapons.
While today’s discussion is an important first step, we must recognize that this conversation cannot end here. This conversation must continue in the future.
It is crucial that we ensure that small arms and light weapons control is integrated into development, violence prevention, and human rights protection.
An inclusive approach is fundamental. It is an approach whose time has come.
Excellencies,
This meeting should be seen as a springboard for further cooperation and ongoing dialogue between the delegates of the First and Second Committees.
These two important committees can find the best ways and means of mitigating the damaging impact of small arms and light weapons on sustainable development.
Hopefully, the informal summary of the outcome of this meeting that will be circulated will serve as a guide for follow-up actions.?
I wish all of us a productive discussion.
Thank you.
___
Media Contacts
Sharon Birch, Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly, Tel: +1 212 963 0564, M: +1 646 342 5873, Email: birchs@un.org
Dr. Mariam Shaikh, Adviser/ Social and Digital Media/Media Relations, M: +1 917 3614990, Email: mariam.shaikh@un.org
More Information and Updates?: Website: ???: ??: ; Weekly Highlights
Resolutions of the 79th Session ¨C Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly
?Small Arms Survey. 2023. Global Violent Deaths (GVD) Database 2004¨C21, December 2023 Update, Version 1.0. Geneva: Small Arms Survey. [doi:10.5281/zenodo.8215006.
?Hana Salama, ¡°Addressing weapons in conflict-related sexual violence: the arms control and disarmament toolbox¡±, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵIDIR, 2023. Available at ?06/Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵIDIR_Addressing_Weapons_in_Conflict_related_Sexual_Violence.pdf.