The past decade has seen an increase in the intensity and impact of conflict and violence on civilians globally. The uncontrolled spread and availability of small arms (guns) and munitions prolongs conflict and increases this impact. Small arms and ammunition are regularly stolen and trafficked across porous borders and traded on the illicit market, fuelling more armed violence against civilians.  

Weapons and ammunition are often stored in or near built-up areas. If there is an unplanned explosion the consequences can be devastating, causing mass death and injury, as well as destroying homes, schools and community infrastructure.

Improving the quality of storage facilities and destroying obsolete weapons and ammunition removes the chance of accidents and harm. It also supports sustainable development and enables a greater opportunity for sustainable peace.

Our weapons and ammunition work establishes security measures to reduce the risk of small arms being stolen and misused. Simple, lockable small arms and gun racks produced locally according to MAG designs are a key part of our armoury rehabilitation. Record-keeping is also an essential component of weapons management and we encourage people to be accountable for weapons assigned to them.

Marking weapons according to regional and international standards plays an important role in addressing the illicit market and promoting safer cities and communities. We train people on how best to do this and on weapon database management.

Safe and accountable destruction methods ensure that all the working parts of a weapon are unusable and that the ammunition is completely destroyed so it cannot cause harm.

MAG has developed a range of capacity development and training courses tailored to national and regional contexts. We work with partners and national authorities to design, develop and implement their national small arms action plans.