In recent years, the international arms control agenda has become more aligned with that of sustainable development and the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda. As a result, two important synergies have emerged. The first is a focus on disaggregating, assessing, and addressing the various ways in which arms and ammunition impact different stakeholder groups through tools such as gender analysis and the sex disaggregation of data. The second is the need to gender mainstream relevant policies and procedures––that is, to institutionalize meaningful participation in all work processes and structures.
The rationale for these approaches is that they will lead to control efforts that are more equitable for those who do the work and more effective and sustainable for beneficiaries. The UN Secretary-General first drew attention to the importance of these considerations in his Securing our Common Future: An Agenda for Disarmament in 2018, and subsequently in his 2019 Report on Small Arms and Light Weapons.
This paper considers how gender considerations can be conceptualized and addressed in the context of the Life-cycle Management of Ammunition (LCMA). It describes the normative basis for gender mainstreaming LCMA, provides indications of the gender dimensions of ammunition throughout the management of its life cycle, and outlines a framework for promoting further work in this area. It also identifies research questions whose elaboration would advance gender mainstreaming efforts.
A co-publication with the Small Arms Survey. An associated podcast is available at http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/resources/multimedia/podcasts/podcast-51.html.
Dear Colleagues,
We are very pleased to share the eleventh issue of the UNSGM newsletter, which covers the activities organized in support of the UNSGM for the second half of 2025. The UNSGM team at UNODA worked diligently to maintain the pace of activities in 2025. We are pleased to provide more details on these activities below, as well as an update on staffing for the UNSGM team to ensure the continued high standard of support going forward.
Dear Colleagues,
We are very pleased to share the tenth issue of the UNSGM newsletter. 2025 has proven to be another busy year for the UNSGM team. The first half of the year has already seen several training courses, a regional outreach workshop, and many other activities to strengthen the UNSGM – more details on which can be found in this issue.
This briefing paper provides an overview of the Global Framework for Through-life Conventional Ammunition Management (GFA) and explores its relevance and implications for the Asia-Pacific region. Building upon discussions held during the Informal Regional Meeting in support of the GFA—organized by UNRCPD on 4–5 December 2024 in Kathmandu, Nepal—and based on desk research and a series of consultations, the paper identifies regional opportunities and challenges for GFA implementation. The paper begins with a brief history of the process leading to the elaboration and adoption of the GFA.
