Izumi Nakamitsu

The High Representative for Disarmament Affairs told the Security Council on Wednesday that Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), in the context of peacekeeping operations, are a "threat" that can "exacerbate conflict, render arms embargoes ineffective, endanger ‘blue helmets’, humanitarian workers and local populations, and complicate peace agreements."

Nearly 50 per cent of all violent deaths between 2010 and 2015, more than 200,000 each year, involved small arms and light weapons, the Security Council was told on Tuesday, during a briefing by UN disarmament chief Izumi Nakamitsu.