Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, has told a UN meeting that illicit small arms and light weapons have become Africa’s “True weapons of mass destruction,” driving terrorism, conflicts and humanitarian crises across the continent.
Ibrahim presented the African Group’s position at the Biennial Meeting of States in New York, which reviewed the implementation of the UN Programme of Action to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, and the International Tracing Instrument.
Speaking on behalf of the African Group, Ibrahim said that years after the Programme of Action was adopted, and years after the International Tracing Instrument, the illicit trade “continues to fuel armed violence across the world.”
“The situation in Africa is particularly alarming,” he said. “Small arms and light weapons have become the continent’s true weapons of mass destruction, driving terrorism, transnational organised crime, prolonged conflicts, humanitarian crises, and the loss of countless lives.”
Ibrahim said the meeting was an opportunity to “translate longstanding commitments into measurable outcomes,” guided by the Common African Position, which sets out the continent’s priorities at national, regional and international levels.
He reaffirmed Africa’s commitment to the UN Charter principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-interference, self-defence, and peaceful settlement of disputes.
The Nigerian envoy outlined the African Group’s priorities, stressing that national implementation must produce tangible results. He said African states have strengthened legal and regulatory frameworks covering the full life cycle of small arms — manufacture, marking, stockpile management, and disposal.
Countries have also invested in national coordinating bodies, designated points of contact, and national action plans. He urged international partners to sustain support while respecting national ownership and ensuring assistance remains voluntary and demand-driven.
On preventing diversion, Ibrahim said stopping weapons from reaching the wrong hands “remains central to Africa’s agenda.” He called for stronger physical security and stockpile management in peacetime, conflict and post-conflict settings, plus improved end-user controls, monitoring, investigations and information-sharing.
He also urged the international community to criminalise the conversion of deactivated, blank-firing and non-lethal firearms into fully functional weapons.
The African Group, he added, continues to call for a prohibition on the transfer of small arms and light weapons to unauthorised non-state actors, including criminal and terrorist groups.
The Biennial Meeting of States brings together UN member countries to assess progress and gaps in curbing illicit small arms flows.
