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1. Extracting Evidence: Opportunities and Obstacles in Assessing the Gendered Impacts of Diverted Ammunition

Author:
Emile LeBrun, André Desmarais, Kheira Djouhri, and Nicolas Florquin
Publication Date:
05-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Small Arms Survey
Abstract:
Ammunition diverted from legal to illicit markets is a central concern in small arms control, but its impact is understudied. A new Briefing Paper from the Small Arms Survey and the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs explores how authorities can go about better monitoring the role it plays in violent crime. Extracting Evidence: Opportunities and Obstacles in Assessing the Gendered Impacts of Diverted Ammunition unpacks the challenges involved in trying to assess the true costs of ammunition diverted from official stockpiles. The study describes contextual background, notes the limitations of ammunition profiling research to date, and presents findings from a pilot case study on ammunition profiling in Kosovo* as well as insights from ammunition marking policy in Brazil. It finds that authorities struggle to identify what materiel among seized ammunition has been diverted from official stockpiles, which in turn prevents the ability to truly assess the impact it has on men, women, boys, and girls. The study identifies measures for overcoming such monitoring challenges, including special marking practices for state-destined ammunition, headstamp data collection guidelines, and information sharing protocols between relevant agencies for ammunition recovered from crime scenes.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Crime, Trafficking, Gender, and Ammunition
Political Geography:
Europe and Kosovo

2. Missing or Unseen? Exploring Women’s Roles in Arms Trafficking

Author:
Emilia Dungel and Anne-Séverine Fabre
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Small Arms Survey
Abstract:
The roles of women in arms trafficking have been addressed in broader studies focusing on issues like violent extremism prevention, women offenders, political activism, and transnational crime in relation to drug trafficking and human trafficking. However, there has been little research on this subject from a specific small arms control perspective. Missing or Unseen? Exploring Women’s Roles in Arms Trafficking strives to fill this gap, and examines the extent to which well-established small arms research methods—general population surveys, key informant interviews, and court documentation reviews—can be used to explore arms trafficking through a gender lens. The Report applies these methods in the form of three case studies—in Niger, Ukraine*, and the United States. It finds that the combined use of these methods does help to shed light on specific aspects of women in arms trafficking, such as their varied roles, which include high-risk activities and, in a few cases, leadership positions. The study also offers a number of suggestions for future research in this area.
Topic:
Crime, Women, Arms Trade, and Trafficking
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Ukraine, North America, Niger, and United States of America

3. Making the Rounds: Illicit Ammunition in Ukraine

Author:
Matt Schroeder and Olena Shumska
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Small Arms Survey
Abstract:
Making the Rounds: Illicit Ammunition in Ukraine finds that thousands of hand grenades, rockets, mortar rounds, landmines, and tins of firearms cartridges have proliferated throughout Ukraine, including to areas located far from the conflict zone in the east. Presenting findings from a comprehensive review of imagery and information on illicit ammunition trafficked to, from, and within Ukraine, the report includes an analysis of markings on more than 1,600 seized hand grenades, shoulder-fired rockets, ammunition tins, and anti-personnel landmines. The report reveals the types and sources of illicit ammunition in the country, as well as the modes of transport and smuggling techniques used by Ukrainian arms traffickers and their co-conspirators abroad. The analysis shows that the overwhelming majority of the 1,600 items analyzed were Soviet-designed models produced in Eastern European and Soviet factories prior to the dissolution of the USSR. Curbing the threat to local and regional security posed by this ammunition requires a long-term, coordinated effort by Ukrainian authorities and the international community.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Weapons, Arms Trade, and Trafficking
Political Geography:
Europe and Ukraine

4. Nigeria: National Small Arms and Light Weapons Survey

Author:
Small Arms Survey
Publication Date:
08-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Small Arms Survey
Abstract:
This report documents the findings of the first ever national assessment of small arms prevalence and impacts in Nigeria. The National Small Arms and Light Weapons Survey (NSALWS), implemented in 2016 by Nigeria’s Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons (PRESCOM), was conducted to better understand the prevalence, proliferation, perception, use and impacts of small arms in Nigeria. The Small Arms Survey supported PRESCOM on survey methodology and analysis, and with the provision of training on survey methods specific to small arms. Nigeria: National Small Arms and Light Weapons Survey reveals that, at the time of the survey, Nigerians considered firearms-fueled armed violence a significant problem, although variations in threat perceptions show that some regions and communities were more affected than others. The survey also found that Nigerians did not feel the need to own weapons, and did not want one, even though security in their communities was poor. Furthermore, respondents felt that acquiring a firearm was difficult. While direct purchase was the most commonly reported source of small arms, the general public did not know exactly where firearms came from. Diversion and illicit supply, as well as craft production, also appeared to be important. Finally, based on survey responses, it is quite clear that Nigerians expected stronger efforts at arms control, including through civilian disarmament. They asserted that the most effective way to limit arms proliferation is to address structural conditions that cause poverty and insecurity.
Topic:
Regulation, Weapons, Trafficking, Disarmament, and Violence
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria