What are small arms?
Small arms are weapons that can be carried by a single person, either for military or civilian use. They include weapons such as grenades, hand-guns, landmines, light missiles, mortars, pistols, and sub-machine guns. Eight million small arms are produced every year. Why is the issue of small arms an important one? The International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) describes small arms as ‘weapons of mass destruction.’ More people are killed by small arms in a year than by larger weapons such as tanks, warships or bomber jets. Almost one person every minute is killed by a bullet from a gun. Men, as the main buyers, owners and users of small arms are the most direct casualties of gun violence. However, women are victimised to a disproportionate degree; they are particularly at risk of violence in the home, and rape at gunpoint. Children too suffer greatly as a result of small arms: according to the Control Arms Campaign, ‘an estimated 300,000 children are working as soldiers in confl
