STATEMENT BY
H.E. ALHAJI MUSA TIMOTHY KABBA
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE
Excellencies, Members of the Security Council,
1. I thank Mr. Adedeji Ebo, Officer-in-Charge and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs; His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, High Representative for the Silencing the Guns Initiative of the African Union Commission; Ms. Roraima Ana Andriani, Special Representative of INTERPOL to the European Union; and Dr. Arnoux Descardes, Executive Director of Volontariat pour le Développement d’Haïti, for their insightful briefings and recommendations.
2. Our briefers have underscored the importance of effective mechanisms to prevent the diversion, proliferation, and misuse of small arms and light weapons (SALW), and the urgent need to mitigate their devastating impact on our communities and people – men, women, the youth and children caught in conflict, as well as their broader consequences for international peace and security.
3. Sierra Leone notes the continued attention the Secretary-General places on this issue, including in his October 2025 report, which rightly recognizes that unregulated SALW affect every dimension of human security, public health, human rights, social stability, and sustainable development. The report also highlights the destabilizing impact of illicit weapons flows on peace and security, particularly through their linkages to armed conflict, terrorism, violent extremism, and organized crime, and emphasizes comprehensive, life-cycle management from manufacture and transfer to stockpiling, use, and final disposal.
4. There is overwhelming evidence that SALW are among the leading causes of civilian casualties in armed conflicts. Because they are relatively cheap, easy to acquire, transport, and conceal, they remain weapons of choice in irregular warfare. With an estimated 850 million small arms in circulation globally, about 650 million in civilian hands, the small arms trade is often cited as among the least transparent of all weapon systems. This demands that the mechanisms we establish, including arms embargoes, remain effective and consistently enforced.
5. At the global level, the 2001 UN Programme of Action on SALW, the 2005 International Tracing Instrument, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the UN Register of Conventional Arms, and the 2013 Arms Trade Treaty together provide a comprehensive framework for coordinated action.
6. The instruments guide efforts on manufacturing, marking and tracing, stockpile management, legitimate international transfers, and DDR. These instruments underpin the Council’s actions through peace operation mandates, DDR programming, and arms embargoes, complemented by key Security Council resolutions such as 2117, 2220, 2616, and 2654. While challenges remain in implementation and compliance, these frameworks are vital in preventing illicit weapons flows to conflict actors, extremist groups, and criminal networks.
7. Regional initiatives have provided tailored, context-specific responses. As briefed by H.E. Dr. Chambas, the African Union, through “Silencing the Guns” and the Bamako Declaration, has shown strong leadership in advancing a nexus approach that links peace, security, development, human rights, and the rule of law. These frameworks recognize that arms proliferation not only fuels conflict but destroys livelihoods, undermines governance, and reverses development gains.
8. In West Africa and the Sahel, the challenges are acute. The illicit flow of SALW, enabled by porous borders and weak regulatory systems, has intensified terrorism, organized crime, and violent extremism. These realities require coordinated cross-border approaches and the active support of the international community.
9. Recognizing that terrorist and transnational criminal networks increasingly operate in concert, and recalling relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolution 2370, which underscores the imperative of preventing terrorists from acquiring weapons, we must address the growing nexus enabled by illicit arms flows, porous borders, weak regulatory mechanisms, and emerging threats such as craft-produced and 3D-printed firearms.
10. In the Sahel, terrorist groups and criminal syndicates exploit trafficking corridors that move in both directions, linking conflict zones, artisanal mining sites, and coastal hubs, while revenues from illicit economies fund further procurement of weapons and ammunition. In the Caribbean, including Haiti, gangs and criminal networks have expanded territorial control using illicitly trafficked firearms, many diverted from lawful markets or smuggled via maritime routes, eroding the rule of law, overwhelming institutions, and impeding development.
11. These dynamics directly undermine the maintenance of international peace and security, and demand strengthened weapons and ammunition management, marking and tracing, enhanced border and maritime interdiction, and robust judicial and law-enforcement cooperation with regional organizations in Africa and the Caribbean.
12. In response to the report of the Secretary-General, and in calling for a robust response to prevent the illicit sale, transfer, and export of SALW, Sierra Leone wishes to highlight four points.
13. First, global and regional frameworks must support national mechanisms for effective weapons and ammunition management. Operational assistance to strengthen legal and regulatory frameworks, institutional coordination, controls over arms transfers, stockpile management, marking, record-keeping, and disposal is critical to reducing illicit circulation and preventing diversion to unauthorized users.
14. Sierra Leone has learned from experience that removing weapons from battlefields is not enough. Long-term peace depends on enduring national systems that regulate weapons, prevent diversion, and build public trust. In 2010, we established the Sierra Leone National Commission on Small Arms by an Act of Parliament to implement a holistic and integrated system for arms management in line with the ECOWAS Convention on SALW.
15. The Commission has rehabilitated and secured national armories, implemented marking and registration systems, trained personnel in stockpile management, destroyed obsolete weapons, strengthened civilian arms licensing and retrieval, and partnered with civil society to raise public awareness and encourage voluntary disarmament. This model we highlighted in the Arria-formula meeting we convened on “Small Arms Control and Weapons Management in UN Sanctions Regimes co-sponsored by A3 Plus members Algeria, Guyana, and Somalia to address gaps in conflict affect and fragile countries.
16. Second, capacity-building remains essential. Many post-conflict States lack the resources or expertise to fully implement international arms control frameworks or manage stockpiles safely. Targeted support through training, technology transfer, and infrastructure development can make a decisive difference.
17. We welcome, in this regard, the establishment of a technical expert group, at the Fourth UN Review Conference on the Programme of Action and the International Tracing Instrument in June 2024, to develop recommendations on new developments in small arms technology, manufacturing, and design. We also look forward to practical opportunities to apply emerging technologies, including improved digital marking, record-keeping, and traceability systems.
18. Third, effective cross-border cooperation is indispensable. As with other States in our region, Sierra Leone faces challenges in regulating small arms flows within and across its borders. Our compliance with international and regional SALW commitments has benefited from active participation in ECOWAS mechanisms and collaboration with Mano River Union neighbours, Liberia, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire, to prevent cross-border arms movements.
19. We also work closely through the West African Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA) to improve intelligence sharing, border control coordination, and law-enforcement cooperation against illicit trafficking.
20. We recall the African Union Peace and Security Council’s 1085th meeting of 18 May 2022, which called for a continental strategy to address illicit firearms and emerging weapon systems and emphasized closer coordination with African members of the UN Security Council. It is in this regard that we have elevated today’s discussion on the Secretary-General’s report on SALW to an open debate to generate the appropriate level of attention and action.
21. Fourth, arms embargoes and DDR must be fully integrated into peace processes. Sierra Leone’s own experience demonstrates this clearly. During our civil conflict, fueled by the flow of illicit arms and the illicit diamond trade, the Security Council’s arms embargo imposed in 1997 was crucial in constraining the conflict.
22. Coupled with the efforts of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone, it created the conditions for peace to take root. The subsequent DDR programme successfully disarmed over 70,000 ex-combatants and collected more than 25,000 small arms, 1,000 heavy weapons, and nearly one million rounds of ammunition, achievements made possible because weapons were not being replenished during the peace process.
Distinguished Council Members,
23. Sierra Leone approaches this issue not from theory but from lived experience. We know the devastation that unchecked arms proliferation can cause, and we also know the hope that can be restored when weapons are silenced and peace takes hold.
24. We therefore reaffirm our commitment to combating the spread of SALW through strong national systems, effective regional cooperation, and global solidarity. We underscore the critical role of the Security Council in promoting comprehensive approaches that integrate small arms control into peace operations, conflict prevention, sanctions regimes, maritime security, and post-conflict reconstruction strategies.
25. Sierra Leone stands ready to share its experience with post-conflict countries and to work with all partners in building a safer, more peaceful, and secure world.
Thank you.
UN photo/Loey Felipe
