A/HRC/42/21 root causes of firearm violence.102 Côte d’Ivoire concurs that poverty reduction programmes and better educational and employment opportunities can reduce local demand for firearms among civilians.103 56. Several contributions emphasized the need to implement programmes that sensitize the population to the risks of civilian acquisition, possession and use of firearms. 104 UNICEF, for instance, mentioned the need to conduct interventions aimed at countering the banalization of firearms in a child’s environment, including his or her home, school and community. 105 Amnesty International suggested that governments should launch public education campaigns on firearm safety and child deaths that are due to suicide and unintentional shootings. It also proposed that state and local authorities encourage health professionals to offer health and safety education to parents with firearms in the home. 106 57. Understanding how civilians acquire firearms is also crucial to addressing the human rights impacts of firearm violence. In many instances, civilians procure firearms through illicit weapons flows for use in violent crimes. Stolen and diverted firearms are difficult to trace, often preventing law enforcement authorities from promptly identifying potential suspects. 107 Therefore, many States and organizations highlighted the importance of countering the illicit flow of weapons as a crucial step in reducing the human rights impact of civilian access to weapons.108 58. Illicit weapon flows can originate from theft or diversion from individuals or national stockpiles. In Mexico, for example, 20,000 firearms belonging to federal and state security forces were reported missing or stolen between 2006 and 2017. 109 59. Weapons can also enter the black market when they are diverted from armed conflicts. Corruption and porous borders facilitate the flow of these weapons, 110 frequently leading to transnational impacts on human rights. Northern Kenya, for example, is surrounded by internal armed conflicts in neighbouring Somalia and South Sudan and its borders with those countries are generally porous. As a result, a considerable quantity of firearms from these conflicts make their way into illegal gun markets in Kenya. Indeed, as at February 2019, a fraction under 99 per cent of the firearms in the possession of civilians in Kenya (741,864) were unregistered. 111 Consequently, the North Rift region of Kenya experiences debilitating levels of firearm violence related to cattle-raiding, and urban centres such as Nairobi suffer high rates of firearm violence, often perpetrated with sophisticated weapons.112 VI. Conclusions and recommendations 60. Increased civilian access to firearms, including lawfully acquired weapons, leads to increased levels of violence and insecurity which negatively impact human rights. 61. In particular, civilian acquisition, possession and use of firearms pose direct risks to the rights to life, security of person, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and freedom to enjoy one’s culture, religion and language. Civilian access to firearms also jeopardizes the rights to adequate housing, health, and education, and the right to equality and non-discrimination. Increased civilian access to firearms also 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 See the contribution of Amnesty International. See the contribution of Côte d’Ivoire. See the contributions of Côte d’Ivoire, UNICEF and Amnesty International. See the contribution of UNICEF. See the contribution of Amnesty International. Ibid. See the contributions of Côte d’Ivoire, the National Human Rights Commission of Mexico, Kenya, Montenegro and Amnesty International. See the contribution of the National Human Rights Commission of Mexico. See the contributions of Côte d’Ivoire and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. See the contribution of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. Ibid. 13