UNODA Occasional Papers No.23 : The Impact of Poorly Regulated Arms Transfers on the Work of the United Nations - United Nations Coordinating Action on Small Arms (CASA) 2013, March 2013

The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) Occasional Papers is a series of ad hoc publications presenting, in edited form, papers or statements made at meetings, symposiums, seminars, workshops or lectures that deal with topical issues in the field of arms limitation, disarmament and international security. They are intended primarily for those concerned with these matters in Government, civil society and in the academic community. UNODA Occasional Papers No.23 aims to develop a coherent United Nations approach to support the international community's efforts to improve the regulation of international transfers of conventional arms. It records the United Nations Organization's advocacy over the past years of a robust and comprehensive Arms Trade Treaty that covers the full array of conventional weapons as well as ammunition and that includes provisions that arms not be transferred where there is a clear risk that they will be used to commit violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law or seriously undermine development. Abstract Defining the problem Why does an arms trade reaty matter? How weaspons misuse and diversion impact the work of the United Nations and the States and citizens it serves Use of firearms in homicides - firearms as a tool of violence Impact of firearms on organized crime and gang criminality Firearms as illegal trafficking commodity and its links to other crimes Piracy Conclusion. Table of contents Abstract The impact of poorly regulated arms transfers on the work of the United Nations