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From 14 – 18 June, 124 U.N. member states, regional and UN bodies as well as 260 civil society organizations discussed how to better control small arms, reviewing the progress made  under a 2001 U.N. programme to control the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.

Representatives of the government of Mozambique’s national small arms agency participated in the conference, supported by two representatives from UNDP Mozambique.

As part of the session involving regional organizations, Dr Joaquim Bule, from a Mozambican ministerial commission, addressed the conference on behalf of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The Government of Mozambique is the current chair of the SADC Organ of Politics, Defence and Security. In the intervention, Dr Bule said “The issue of small arms and light weapons control in the SADC region requires a reinforcing of structures within states to manage legally held state and civilian held firearms  and in so doing create greater control and reduce the likelihood of diversion to the illegal market.”

The government’s on-going small arms programme , supported by UNDP, is addressing those threats.