UN Calls for Combating Small ArmsTrafficking

United Nations, Apr 26. -The United Nations warned today of widespread trafficking of small arms and light weapons and ammunition, compared to over seven billion USD in legal sales.

The exact value of illegal transactions cannot be determined, but may be in the billions, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a report to the Security Council on Monday.

Management and control of small arms arsenals is one of the most serious problems involving these types of weapons, and government warehouses are a major source of illegal weapons on the streets, Ban said.

The armed forces of the world are storing 200 million modern firearms, 76 million of which may be considered surplus and should be destroyed, he said.

Violence involving weapons is a matter of national and international security that can have regional and transnational effects, go beyond borders and unleash large-scale population displacement, Ban said.

He urged nations to bolster their ability to track weaons and increase international cooperation in this effort, among other measures. (Prensa Latina)