This Briefing Paper provides selected global data and figures to highlight the massive global scale and impacts of violence and destabilization committed with small arms and light weapons (SALW) in both conflict and non-conflict settings. This briefing paper alsp includes the enormous economic and social costs, arising from the illicit circulation, diversion, frequent misuse, and inadequate regulation of such weapons, along with their ammunition. The huge global cost in lives and livelihoods can be gleaned by considering various estimates. In July 2023 UN Secretary General reported that: “From 2015 to 2021, an estimated 3.1 million people lost their lives as a result of intentional homicides, a shocking figure which dwarfs that of the estimated 700,000 people who died in armed conflicts during the period.” In December 2023 he added that: “According to the latest figures, 260,000 people were killed by small arms in 2021 alone, amounting to 45 per cent of all violent deaths — more than 700 people daily, or one person dying from small arms every two minutes.” A large proportion of deaths in armed conflict situations were committed or facilitated through the use of SALW. In addition, from 2015 to 2021, organized crime accounted for around 700,000 deaths. Considering that in 2021, 47 per cent of reported homicides committed with a known mechanism world-wide involved the use of firearms, it is reasonable to assume that deaths committed and facilitated with SALW, both directly and indirectly over the past decade, amounted to millions of lives lost. Moreover, the social and economic costs of SALW-related criminal violence and conflict need to be taken into account. Those costs vary by region and country, but the effects are global and increasing. The UNHCR estimated that there were 110 million forcibly displaced people in mid-2023, mostly from just ten countries. The Global Peace Index 2023 reported that over the last 15 years the world has become less peaceful. The global economic impact of violence has increased by 6.9% or USD 1.1 trillion between 2008 and 2022. The costs associated with conflict deaths increased by 326% (USD 27.5 billion), costs for refugees and IDP’s increased by 177% (USD 295 billion), GDP losses due to conflict increased by 45% (USD 86.6 billion) and cost for military expenditures increased by 12% (USD 835.5 billion).