Human Rights and the Civilian Acquisition, Possession and Use of Firearms

A/HRC/RES/56/9View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2024.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 topics

Business Enterprises Civilian Persons Firearms Laws and Regulations Right to Culture Right to Life Right to Security of Person

What does this mandate say?

15 operative paragraphs

Expresses its concern that the global number of firearms is rising, that civilians own far more firearms worldwide than the military and law enforcement sectors combined, and that the majority of these firearms are unregistered;

Also expresses its concern that violence related to civilian ownership of firearms may lead to an overall decline in a sense of public safety and that fear of victimization constitutes an important motivation for the acquisition of firearms by civilians;

Reiterates its deep concern at the fact that the majority of firearms-related homicides are committed in non-conflict settings, and that every year hundreds of thousands of human beings of all ages around the world lose their lives or suffer injuries, lifelong disability and psychological harm from civilian firearms-related violence, thus having their enjoyment of human rights negatively affected, and that these profound long-term impacts expose individuals, in particular persons in vulnerable or marginalized situations, to further vulnerabilities and human rights concerns relating to their enjoyment of human rights;

Recognizes that civilian firearms-related violence and insecurity pose direct risks to the enjoyment of the rights to life and to security of person, and also affect other civil and political rights, including the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs, as well as the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights;

Calls upon States to do their utmost to take appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures, consistent with international law, in particular human rights law, and their constitutional frameworks, including comprehensive, inclusive and evidence-based public policies, tailored to address the root causes and risk factors driving firearms-related violence, including different forms of inequality and discrimination rooted in negative stereotypes, in order to minimize the human rights impact of the civilian acquisition, possession and use of firearms, with the aim of strengthening the protection and enjoyment of the human rights of all;

Also calls upon States to consider adopting requirements for manufacturers and dealers of firearms and their ammunition based on the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which include the responsibility to avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts, preventing, remediating when appropriate or mitigating adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, and the responsibility to conduct human rights due diligence;

Calls once more upon States to ensure that regulations on civilian and companies’ acquisition, possession and use of firearms and their ammunition include appropriate measures to avoid illicit practices, including the diversion of firearms and their ammunition;

Calls upon States to adopt effective national regulations and, where necessary, strengthen controls on the acquisition, possession and use of firearms and their ammunition by children, and to invest in and support community-based interventions aimed at violence prevention and rehabilitation of children and youth trapped in environments of violence, including those largely attributable to the illicit activities of organized criminal groups and street gangs;

Encourages States to collect and publish disaggregated data on the acquisition, possession and use of firearms and their ammunition, where feasible and consistent with their constitutional and legislative frameworks, and to analyse the underlying drivers of firearm use affecting the enjoyment of human rights;

Calls upon all States to take effective measures with the aim of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular Sustainable Development Goal 16, to promote peaceful and inclusive societies;

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the impact of the civilian acquisition, possession and use of firearms, in which the High Commissioner examined firearms-related death and injury and its human rights consequences, factors driving the availability of firearms, as well as the way in which business enterprises, in particular the firearms industry, contribute to driving the availability of firearms, and their commitment to implementing the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;

Requests the High Commissioner to prepare, in consultation with Member States, a report on the impact of the civilian acquisition, possession and use of firearms and the underlying root causes and risk factors driving firearms-related violence on the right to participate in cultural life and the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs, particularly for individuals in vulnerable or marginalized situations, and to present the report to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-ninth session;

Invites all relevant special procedures, commissions of inquiry and other accountability mechanisms, and human rights treaty bodies, as well as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to continue to bear in mind the present resolution within the framework of their respective mandates;

Invites all business enterprises, including those involved in the manufacture and sale of firearms and their ammunition, to consider the reports of the High Commissioner on human rights and the civilian acquisition, possession and use of firearms when addressing the adverse human rights impacts of their operations, in line with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;

Decides to remain seized of this issue.

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