United Nations Secretary Kofi Annan Monday called for an end to the illegal small-arms proliferation, saying he looks forward to working with governments, civil society groups and the general public to rid humanity of this "scourge."

In a message to mark the Small Arms Destruction Day, which falls on July 9, Annan said there are estimated to be at least 500 million small arms and light weapons in circulation, and the vast majority are in the hands of legal authorities, but legal weapons often end up in the hands of irregular troops, criminals, drug traffickers and terrorists.

He said that small arms are implicated in well over 1,000 deaths every single day, citing the results of a recent small arms survey.

"This is not just a matter of disarmament, but rather is linked to conflict prevention, human rights, humanitarian assistance, the rule of law and development," he said.

He said that Small Arms Destruction Day, along with the U.N. Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons, which opened today at the U.N. headquarters in New York, will give this issue the high profile it deserves.

(Xinhua News Agency 07/10/2001)