Global Policy Forum

US Demand Fuels Spike in Small Arms

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Small Arms
The 2009 Small Arms Survey confirms the continued rise in the global trade of small arms and light weapons. The value of global trade in small arms reached $2.9 billion in 2006, a rise of 28% since 2000. The United States, as a top exporter and the biggest importer of small arms, is the major driver of this increase. Between 2001 and 2006, light weapons resulted in the deaths of 450,000 people. The abundance of such arms has fuelled many conflicts, including in Afghanistan, Southern Lebanon and Indonesia's Aceh province.

 

 

 

Access the Small Arms Survey 2009: Shadows of War
 

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