Among the global expenditures, military spending takes up the greatest portion. The procurement of arms accounts for about 30% of the total military budget, and the absolute annual figure has been increasing in the recent past years to about $60 billion. Developing countries are the highest consumers, and as a result, the rate of violence in these countries is very high according to global records (Shah, 2018).
According to Al Jazeera Media Network (2014 ), the proliferation of small arms in developing countries has led to increased violence which has resulted to the death of hundreds of thousands of people, leaving many more others crippled. Small arms such as grenades, handguns and assault rifles particularly account for greater violence among all the weapons because they are affordable, portable and easily accessible. Most developing countries have a high level of poverty which exposes them to the threat of receiving high supplies of small arms. As such, there is a high rate of armed violence that leads to the lack of safety and peace in the communities, putting them at the top of global records.
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There are significant human costs involved in following the misuse of small arms leading to social instability in these countries. The countries are already poor, lacking the basic resources for further development. Violence resulting from small arms leave many people injured who require treatment as well as care. The local authority is also forced to put in place security systems to fend off such violence. All these take up the already scarce household resources leading to greater poverty levels. The affected populations seek ways to minimize these threats and may end up migrating to other places where there's less or no violence. The level of crime also rises to deny the affected people access to the much-needed aid. In Sub-Saharan Africa, small arms have been used by militia groups to propagate violence and spread terror among the people leading to political, social and economic instability, furthering poverty in this region ( Al Jazeera Media Network, 2014 ).
Why Developed Nations Supply Arms to Developing Nations
The proliferation of small arms is a thriving business, and developed countries capitalize on it. According to Shah (2018), the global annual expenditure on the military is $ 1,000 billion. Countries set their laws to determine what is legal and what is not. As long as the sale of arms is not illegal by their laws, they will continue to conduct the business. Despite the devastating impact of small arms in the propagation of violence, the sale of arms is not illegal for the supplying countries. Countries would thus conduct such transactions without violating their laws and no other country, or a third party can have jurisdiction over such transactions. Even the existing international laws cannot enforce the authority to prevent a country from selling weapons to another country. They are thus free to do what benefits them notwithstanding the negative impacts on the recipient countries.
Conclusion
Small arms are cheap and easily accessible to people. Developing countries are vulnerable to their proliferation as a result of high levels of poverty. Their misuse leads to violence causing deaths as well as serious injuries causing social instability in the affected countries. Since it is not illegal for countries to trade in arms, they conduct transactions that contribute to high levels of violence for the recipient countries which are still developing.
References
Al Jazeera Media Network. (2014, March 14). Inside Story – Global arms trade: Who are the winners? [Video File]. Retrieved from http://video.aljazeera.com/channels/eng/videos/inside-story---global-arms-trade%3A-who-are-the-winners%3F/3352825813001
Shah, A. (2009). The arms trade is big business. Global Issues . Retrieved from
http://www.globalissues.org/article/74/the-arms-trade-is-big-business
