They are used to kill, mutilate and terrorize people, most of whom are innocent civilians. The impact on civilians has been devastating. Conservatively speaking, this means that more than 700,000 civilian deaths a year are attributable to small arms. These are truly arms of mass destruction. Their widespread availability has made it easier to fight, multiplying the human cost in civil and ethnic disputes.
Small arms are simple to use and light to carry, lowering the barrier for violence and terror.
They make it easy for corrupt Governments and warlords to transform innocent children into chillingly efficient killing machines. They endanger international military, police and humanitarian assistance workers, whose very jobs are to help those victimized by conflict. These arms make economic development impossible. The challenges of controlling them are complex, but come down to a question of supply and demand and, frankly, the political courage to do something about them. The demand for small arms is fuelled by those whose ambitions perpetrate human misery.