Summary of Background Papers

This document summarizes three background presentations from a workshop on the relationship between children, youth, and small arms, focusing on the drivers of youth involvement in violence, the technical nature of small arms and light weapons (SALW), and the global and regional frameworks designed to combat their proliferation.

• Youth involvement in violence is frequently driven by the failure of states and communities to protect children's rights, with social, political, and economic factors creating vulnerabilities to both voluntary and forced recruitment into violent groups.
• While arms are not the primary cause of conflict, the availability of small arms and light weapons (SALW) drives the perpetration, escalation, and cyclical nature of violence, affecting children as both victims and perpetrators.
• Global statistics indicate there are approximately 639 million legally held firearms among military, police, and private owners, with the annual legal trade valued between $5 billion and $7 billion.
• International responses to illicit arms trade include the 2001 UN Programme of Action and the 2002 UN Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, alongside coordination via the Coordinated Action on Small Arms (CASA) and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee on Humanitarian Issues.
• African governments have implemented frameworks to address arms proliferation through law enforcement, civilian possession controls, DDR (disarmament, demobilization and reintegration), and public education. These are supported by regional agreements including the Bamako Declaration, the ECOWAS Moratorium, the SADC Protocol, and the Nairobi Declaration.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2003). Summary of Background Papers. https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/conference-reports/12-sep-2003-conference-report-disarming-children-and-youth-raising-awareness-and-addressing-the-impact-of-small-arms-accra-8-12-september-2003/summary-of-background-papers

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Summary of Background Papers. 2003. https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/conference-reports/12-sep-2003-conference-report-disarming-children-and-youth-raising-awareness-and-addressing-the-impact-of-small-arms-accra-8-12-september-2003/summary-of-background-papers.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Summary of Background Papers |date=12 September 2003 |url=https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/conference-reports/12-sep-2003-conference-report-disarming-children-and-youth-raising-awareness-and-addressing-the-impact-of-small-arms-accra-8-12-september-2003/summary-of-background-papers |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2003summary, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Summary of Background Papers}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2003}, month = sep, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/conference-reports/12-sep-2003-conference-report-disarming-children-and-youth-raising-awareness-and-addressing-the-impact-of-small-arms-accra-8-12-september-2003/summary-of-background-papers}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }