The call for tough arms controls – Voices from Afghanistan

Afghanistan has one of the highest concentrations of guns per person in the world. There may be up to 10 million small arms circulating in a country which has a population of 23 million. The human consequences are not just measured in deaths and injuries. The culture of the gun has become deeply embedded, and the presence of firearms has a fundamental impact on democracy, development, and security. These weapons – millions of tons of guns and ammunition – fuelled each new stage of the conflict. Now, some disarmament has taken place, but many leaders of armed groups still possess weapons and use them to abuse and threaten people and to steal property. As in so many crises, ordinary people have paid the price. In November 2005, representatives of the Control Arms campaign interviewed some of these people from across Afghanistan about what has happened to them since 1979, so that their voices can be heard alongside the technical arguments and diplomatic negotiations of the disarmament debates due to take place at the United Nations in 2006.