Division 1 RATIONALE AND BACKGROUND

The landmark 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognises the inherent link between peaceful societies and sustainable development. In addition, the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, through several UN Security Council resolutions is positioning conflict-prevention, women's meaningful and equitable participation and sustaining peace at its core. One major impediment to peace and sustainable development worldwide remains the illicit trade in, and the ubiquitous misuse of, small arms. Adequate small arms control is essential for reducing conflict, crime and violence. It is a prerequisite for societal stability and sustainable development.

The United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (PoA) provides the global framework for tackling the small arms problem, committing all States to improving national small arms laws, import/export controls, stockpile management, destruction of surplus, marking and tracing, and to engage in cooperation and assistance. Although progress has been made, much more must be done to strengthen small arms control through the implementation of the Programme of Action and to fulfil the commitments made in the 2030 Agenda.

The unique, deeply societal characteristics of the small arms issue necessitates a comprehensive mainstreaming of gender perspectives in all dimensions of small arms control. To date, gender perspectives have been insufficiently understood, addressed and integrated into policies controlling small arms. And when gender dimensions are not adequately dealt with in legislative and policy frameworks that control small arms, the success and effectiveness of interventions are limited. However, gender-related approaches to necessary small arms control measures are still in their infancy. In recent years, the small arms agenda has converged with broader international policy on gender equality and women's empowerment, which this Decision will further underpin.

The 2030 Agenda has linked small arms control to the peace, security and development agenda, thereby simultaneously providing an interconnected framework of Goals, which go beyond the security dimension and which highlight that the small arms problem has implications for the realisation of several Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 5 on gender equality and women's empowerment. In fact, gender equality is reflected in Goal 5, but is also a cross-cutting theme throughout the entire 2030 Agenda. This Decision contributes to gender mainstreaming of and the equitable and meaningful participation of women in all arms control decision-making processes. It also recognises the differing impact of the use and misuse of small arms on men, women, boys and girls and supports actions which are designed to lead to more inclusive, effective and sustainable policy outcomes in small arms control.

The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Beijing Declaration form a strong normative basis for connecting the WPS and the small arms agendas. The adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty and the recently launched EU-UN Spotlight Initiative have further highlighted the need to focus on this issue. While the proposed actions advance gender-mainstreaming in small arms control, the outcomes will directly contribute to the elimination of all forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls. Securing guns and reducing their circulation removes one of the most frequent choice of weapons for domestic and gender-based violence and femicide. Empowering women and breaking down gender stereotypes surrounding weapons will address the root causes of gender-based violence which include patriarchal systems, gender inequitable attitudes and violent aspects of traditional masculinity.

The increasing convergence of the WPS and the small arms control agendas has been illustrated in UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2242 (2015). The actions supported by this Decision will implement the call of the UN Security Council to participate in the design and implementation of efforts related to the prevention, combatting and eradication of the illicit transfer, and the destabilising accumulation and misuse of small arms and light weapons and the promotion of women as active players in the fight against the illicit transfer of small arms and light weapons. This Decision seeks to operationalise those links by supporting concrete actions.