Technologies to counter the diversion
of small arms and light weapons, and
components of conventional weapons
Sarah Grand-Clément - United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research
Diederik Cops - Flemish Peace Institute
FOOD-FOR-THOUGHT PAPER
PROJECT D-TECT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
There are many ways in which technology could help to counter the diversion of conventional
weapons. Yet despite some discussions in international meetings on conventional arms
control, we see limited evidence of technologies being used to strengthen or enhance eorts
to prevent, detect, and investigate the diversion of conventional arms, their ammunition, and
parts and components.
This paper seeks to bridge this gap by presenting a needs-driven, systematic, and context-sen
-
sitive framework to identify and assess technologies that could strengthen eorts to counter
the diversion of conventional arms and related components. The rst step of this framework
requires an understanding of the risks and methods of diversion, tailored to each specic type
of conventional weapon and its life-cycle context. The second step examines the existing
technologies which could help address the identied risk(s). The nal step assesses the iden-
tied technologies according to the context(s) in which they would be applied, as well as
against selected attributes the technologies should possess. The paper also provides two illus-
trations to show how the framework could be applied to small arms and light weapons on the
one hand, and components of conventional weapons on the other.
This paper presents an introduction to the rst phase of a joint UNIDIR-FPI initiative to
explore the utility of dierent technologies for strengthening eorts to counter diversion and
eradicate the illicit trade in conventional arms.
August 2023
