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The worldwide small arms epidemic must be controlled
In the wake of September 11, it is more obvious than ever that small arms can bring about large carnage, and that they will continue to figure prominently in regional conflicts. It is no exaggeration to say that it is now urgent to understand the public health crises linked to small arms, and to devise means to minimize these. This commentary offers some information and thoughts to inform the discourse in the health arena drawn from an international conference.
The first ever large international meeting on guns was held in New York, 9–20 July 2001. The meeting was the “United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms And Light Weapons In All Its Aspects”. I attended the meeting as a representative of the Handgun Epidemic Lowering Plan (HELP) Network (www.helpnetwork.org). HELP was one of a small contingent promoting public health as part of “all the aspects”. Most of the hundreds of involved non-governmental organizations (NGOs) approach small arms as an issue that is primarily related to war and crime. The goal of the health groups was to strengthen awareness of health perspectives on reducing the international toll of small arms. While a Canadian view on this has recently been published1 the current commentary summarizes what another North American health professional learned from the meeting.
BACKGROUND ON THE CONFERENCE
In 2000, the United Nations adopted a new Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. In May 2001, the United Nations General Assembly added a “Firearm Protocol” to the Convention, intended to “promote, facilitate and strengthen cooperation among State parties in order to prevent, combat, and eradicate the illicit manufacturing and trafficking in firearms, their parts, components and ammunition”.2 The July 2001 meeting was organized to address the issue of small arms “more comprehensively”. The definition …
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