The United Nations has raised fresh concerns over the long-term consequences of illicit arms proliferation, revealing that weapons looted during the 2011 conflict in Libya have found their way into the hands of extremist groups operating in Nigeria and other countries across the Sahel region.
The disclosure was made by Izumi Nakamitsu, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, while addressing delegates at a meeting on the spread of illicit firearms held on Tuesday at the UN Headquarters in New York, United States.
Nakamitsu warned that weapons diverted or stolen during armed conflicts often continue to fuel violence and insecurity long after the fighting has ended, posing significant threats to peace, stability and development across affected regions.
According to her, weapons looted during and after the 2011 Libyan uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi later resurfaced in several countries across the wider Sahel, including Niger, Burkina Faso and Nigeria.
“Libya, where weapons looted or diverted during and after the 2011 conflict, which ended the rule of Muammar Gaddafi, later surfaced across the wider Sahel region, including in Niger, Burkina Faso and Nigeria,” she said.
“Some were subsequently found in the hands of extremist groups, illustrating how arms from one conflict can destabilise neighbouring countries years later.
“The end of the conflict does not mean the end of the circulation of those weapons; it stays, and it continues to harm people.”
The UN official stressed that the unchecked proliferation of small arms and light weapons continues to undermine peacebuilding efforts in many post-conflict societies.
She noted that firearms retained by armed groups, militias and even local communities for self-defence purposes often contribute to renewed violence, insecurity and political instability.
Nakamitsu further linked illicit weapons to a range of security and humanitarian challenges, including terrorism, organised crime, human rights violations, and sexual and gender-based violence.
“It is not just a security issue. It is also about peacebuilding. It is about human rights. It is also about development,” she stated.
According to her, one of the major challenges confronting governments is the continued circulation of weapons after conflicts end, as many firearms are hidden, trafficked across borders and eventually used in criminal and terrorist activities.
“Wars end, but unfortunately, the weapons that are used in that particular conflict would not be under full control,” she said.
“They continue to circulate. They are sometimes hidden. They are brought across borders.”
The Under-Secretary-General also warned about emerging threats posed by advancements in weapons manufacturing and trafficking methods, including the growing availability of ghost guns, 3D-printed firearms and increasingly sophisticated international arms trafficking networks.
She explained that traffickers often disassemble weapons and move them across borders in parts, making detection and tracing significantly more difficult for law enforcement agencies.
“Those weapons or weapon parts, if they are disassembled and then trafficked, are more difficult to trace,” Nakamitsu noted.
Her remarks come amid persistent security challenges across parts of Nigeria, where terrorist groups, bandits and other armed criminal networks continue to exploit the availability of illicit weapons to carry out attacks and destabilise communities.