Burkina Faso urges UN to address proliferation of small arms

The Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso today urged the General Assembly to galvanize action against the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.

“In West Africa, the phenomenon is particularly distressing and its eradication requires cooperation supported by States and the international community,” Djibrill Yipènè Bassole told the Assembly’s annual high-level debate.

He said the toll on human life taken by small arms and light weapons makes them “veritable weapons of mass destruction.”

In addition to urging attention to the weapons trade, he spotlighted the problem of illicit drug trafficking. This scourge, he said, calls for urgent and appropriate action as it can destabilize countries, distort their economies and exacerbate organized crime and corruption.

“We call for the solidarity and support of the international community to help us eradicate this blight as quickly as possible,” he said.