The activity of the Mission in the field of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) is focused on the follow up of the
Programme of Action (PoA) to prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects adopted by Member States in the 2001 United Nations conference. The implementation of the PoA was considered at two Biennial Meetings of States Parties - held in New York from
7 to 11 July 2003 and from
11 to 15 July 2005 respectively - and reviewed at the UN Conference held in New York from
26 June to 7 July 2006.
In 2005, with the decision 60/519, the General Assembly adopted a
politically binding multilateral Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, in a timely and reliable manner Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons, which had been negotiated in 2004 and 2005 by an Open-Ended Working Group.
The
Fourth Biennial Meeting of States Parties to the PoA- held in New York from the 14th to the 18th of June 2010 and chaired by Ambassador Pablo Macedo of Mexico – adopted a
final document aimed at fostering the implementation of the PoA and of the tracing Instrument, with specific reference to the issues of international cooperation, marking and tracing, fight (at the regional and sub-regional level) of illicit trafficking across borders, follow-up mechanism.
At its 64th session, the General Assembly approved the following resolutions on the issue of SALW:
- 64/30 Assistance to States for curbing illicit traffic in SALW and collecting them
- 64/50 Illicit Trade in SALW in all its aspects