The proliferation of, and ease of access to AK-47 and similar assault rifles around the world, more than any other small arm or light weapon, continues to result in mass suffering, with no end in sight. Military assault rifles are intended to be battlefield weapons; they are not designed to be used as normal instruments of law enforcement, nor are they weapons that should be allowed to end up in civilian hands. All governments have a duty under international humanitarian law such as the Geneva Conventions and Protocols to ensure that their military personnel do not use assault rifles and other weapons to target civilians or for indiscriminate attacks. The mass suffering inflicted with assault rifles and other small arms and light weapons will continue as long as governments fail to uphold such human rights and humanitarian standards, and allow the transfer of such weapons and their ammunition to poorly trained, unaccountable armed forces. It will continue as long as they allow arms traffickers to supply criminals or rebel groups that commit atrocities and abuse in violation of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. The situation will be even worse if the massive surplus stockpiles of Kalashnikov and other assault rifles, and their ammunition, are not destroyed, and if the global spread of production

Reprinted with Permission from Control Arms