Cheap, portable and readily available: every year more than half a million people are killed through the misuse of small arms such as handguns, assault rifles and grenades. Millions more are crippled. With poverty providing an ideal breeding ground for small arms proliferation, African countries are currently the worst hit by a global epidemic of armed violence which threatens the safety and well being of people in developed and developing countries alike. In the context of the first UN Biennial Meeting of States to discuss the UN's programme of action on small arms and light weapons taking place in New York this week, id21 explains why small arms control is such an important issue for developing countries.
Related Link:
* Ending the gun culture
http://www.id21.org/society/s10bundp1g1.html [5]