Therefore, the delegation of Colombia urges the Security Council to support and promote the efforts of the organs within the UN and world system that work for greater democracy. In the intermediate run, support would include monetary contributions and voluntary logistical and other support by individual states. Weapons are needed to fight wars. In intrastate conflict, the majority of the fighting factions do not have state support for high technological military equipment and are forced to use cheap small arms. Small arms and light weapons are weapons of choice in most internal conflicts because they are widely obtainable, relatively cheap, plentiful, deadly, simple to use and easy to transport.
Cost is a crucial factor in the demand for small arms.
Many hostiles in these internal battles are poor and have often been barred from the legal arms market. As a result, they consider cheap small arms and light weapons, perhaps traded illegally, to be their only option. Armed societies are insecure societies. Once certain members of society begin to resolve disputes and secure a livelihood through the use of violence, then others are obliged to protect them in the same manner. In Colombia, for example, small arms have become a defining feature of the country s current civil strife.