MAG's global operations directly reduce the devastating effects of armed violence.
What is armed violence?
Armed violence is the use or threatened use of weapons to inflict injury, death or psychosocial harm.
Why is armed violence a problem?
More than 740,000 people die each year as a result of armed violence. The majority of these deaths – 490,000 – occur in countries that are not affected by armed conflicts. Armed violence affects all societies, all countries and people of all walks of lives.1
It is both a cause and a consequence of poverty and underdevelopment; it is no coincidence that the world’s poorest countries are affected by current or recent conflicts.
How is MAG helping?
MAG works with national governments to deal with the ‘instruments’ of armed violence, helping governments to meet their international commitments under the United Nations Programme of Action, The Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, and the Nairobi Protocol through:
• the identification of stockpiles and armouries;
• stockpile assessment and safe storage (including Physical Security and Stockpile Management);
• the destruction of surplus or obsolete weapons and ammunition;
• marking and tracing weapons;
• training and capacity building.
MAG has also helped develop preventative measures and international standards in Armed Violence Reduction practice, through our contribution to the UN Coordinating Action on Small Arms project, publications such as the Small Arms Survey, and by providing technical support to the Regional Centre for Small Arms.
Note:
1 The Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development
Photo, top: RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenades are loaded onto a MAG vehicle to be transported to a demolition site in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [Gwenn Dubourthoumieu/MAG]
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