GENSAC Statement at the 9th Biennial Meeting of States on the Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons
Statement by the Gender Equality Network for Small Arms Control (GENSAC) at the 9th Biennial Meeting of States on the Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons in New York on June 3, 2026. This was delivered by Florencia Rebolledo.
GENSAC welcomes the continued recognition by member states that the illicit proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons affect women, men, girls, and boys differently, and that gender-responsive implementation of the Programme of Action is essential to effective small arms control and saving lives.
At the Fourth Review Conference, states made important progress. They reaffirmed commitments to gender mainstreaming, recognized the importance of engaging men and boys in reducing armed violence, encouraged stronger links with the Women, Peace and Security agenda, and acknowledged the relationship between the illicit proliferation of SALW and gender-based violence.
These commitments matter because the impacts of armed violence are not experienced equally. In this regard, GENSAC and the Small Arms Survey are pleased to have submitted a working paper to BMS9, co-sponsored by, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, and the United Kingdom examining why gender-responsive implementation remains essential to effective small arms control, particularly as discussions increasingly focus on emerging technologies and new patterns of harm.
Each year, tens of thousands of women and girls are killed by intimate partners or family members, often with firearms. In conflict settings, firearms continue to facilitate widespread and systematic gender-based and sexual violence. Yet despite growing recognition of these harms, major implementation gaps remain. Only 29 percent of reporting states indicated in the latest reporting cycle that they collect gender-disaggregated data related to SALW. Without better data and analysis, it becomes far more difficult to design effective prevention and protection measures.
As implementation of the Programme of Action evolves, including through the work of the Open-Ended Technical Expert Group, GENSAC encourages states to ensure that emerging technical discussions are also informed by gender perspectives. Developments related to modular weapons, polymer components, illicit manufacturing, and 3D-printed firearms may alter patterns of access, concealment, diversion, tracing, and harm in ways that can have differentiated impacts across communities and populations, which are essential to better understand in order to effectively address risks.
We also encourage continued attention to the social and cultural drivers of demand for illicit weapons, including harmful constructions of masculinity to associate firearms with status, control, protection, or power. Addressing these dynamics requires engaging men and boys not only as potential perpetrators or at-risk groups, but also as partners in prevention and agents of change.
We also encourage continued attention to the social and cultural drivers of demand for illicit weapons, including harmful constructions of masculinity to associate firearms with status, control, protection, or power. Addressing these dynamics requires engaging men and boys not only as potential perpetrators or at-risk groups, but also as partners in prevention and agents of change.
Chair,
The challenge before us is no longer one of recognition, but of implementation and follow-through.
GENSAC therefore calls on states to:
- Strengthen the collection and use of sex, gender, disability, and age disaggregated data;
- Support the full, equal, meaningful, effective, and safe participation of women in SALW decision-making and technical processes;
- Integrate gender perspectives into emerging technology discussions, policies, and assistance programmes; and
- Continue linking implementation of the Programme of Action with broader prevention, peacebuilding, and Women, Peace and Security frameworks.
