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[11 July 2006] – Experts voiced concern over the impact of the arms trade on children and youths around the world at the UN Small Arms meeting held June 26th to July 7th in New York City, US. The growing involvement of children and youths in armed violence, boosted by ready access to firearms and the illegal trade in small arms was raised by Save the Children Sweden and the Brazilian NGO Viva Rio’s COAV program. Save the Children Sweden and the Viva Rio’s COAV (Children and youths in armed violence) programme took the opportunity to raise awareness of the fallout of the arms trade in terms of child and youth involvement in armed violence and gangs, publishing and distributing a booklet examining the topic. Small arms in the hands of the youngest children
The UN Small Arms meeting was second such meeting held by the UN with the aim of combating illicit trade in small arms, bringing together approximately two thousand representatives of governments and international organizations around the world.
According to Clarissa Huguet, COAV researcher based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the large number of firearms in circulation and their ready accessibility contribute strongly to arm youths worldwide. “Heavy weapons are usually used by those higher up in gang or criminal organization hierarchy,” Huguet said.
Easy access to firearms also means youths move from peripheral supporting roles to becoming agents of armed violence, as well as its victims.
Just in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, 49,913 deaths by firearms were recorded from 1978 to 2000. Approximately 70 per cent of these deaths were related to disputes among criminal organizations, known locally as “factions”, of the drug trade. Of those involved, 50 - 60 per cent are below 18 years of age, according to Luke Dowdney, author of Children of the Drug Trade.
Firearms as status symbols
Clarissa Huguet also pointed out that possessing a firearm is a symbol of status, boosting self esteem and cementing their sense of belonging to a group. The affected youths are often raised in communities riddled with violent crime that offer little opportunity for upward social mobility, and where local armed drug lords are seen as winners.
Huguet believes the problem could be controlled if the State implemented more effective preventative measures, defending the enforcement of Brazil’s Disarmament Statute, a new law imposing strict controls over gun circulation. “We must give these youths a new outlook on life,” said Huguet. “It is vital too, in Brazil’s case, that the Disarmament Statute is enforced, that national borders are efficiently policed, and that legally acquired guns are more strictly controlled.”
According to the Public Security Office of Rio de Janeiro, the number of firearms apprehended jumped sharply in the last four decades, in 1960 the police apprehended 844 illegal firearms in the State, in 1998, the number grew to a startling 10,017.
The UN Program of Action unanimously adopted by UN member nations in 2001 has not been changed by the Revision Conference. In the latest meeting no consensus was reached for creating global arms control policies, but it is hoped that regional agreements may be reached.