The United Nations Security Council, on Thursday, passed an Australia-sponsored landmark resolution seeking to restrict trade and distribution of illicit small arms and weapons. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop presided over the debate on the resolution. The resolution got an overwhelming 14 yes votes, with no country voting against and the lone dissenter, Russia, deciding to abstain.

The resolution expresses grave concern that the illicit transfer, destabilising accumulation and misuse of small arms and light weapons continues to cause significant loss of life around the world.

The Security Council called on governments to comply fully and effectively implement the Council-mandated arms embargoes.

Speaking at the Security Council, the Australian foreign minister said the world was all too frequently reminded that the misuse of small arms and light weapons threatened civilians and States alike, including in Mali, Congo and the Central African Republic.

While states bore the primary responsibility for preventing the illicit transfer of small arms, many would need support to do so, she said.

She pointed out that peacekeeping and political missions could play a key role in that respect.

"The Council has taken too long to adopt its first resolution on small arms," she noted.

"These weapons pose a grave threat to civilians, to peacekeepers, to humanitarian workers and to civil society organisations," the Australian foreign minister said.

"Their proliferation and misuse can undermine the rule of law and human rights, and destroy efforts to rebuild broken societies."

She urged the Council to consider such issues more systematically, return to the subject more frequently and ensure that "our commitments today are not forgotten tomorrow."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the treaty will help address weapons diversion from government stockpiles - a growing and disturbing source of arms for pirates, rebels and warlords

"The world is over-armed and peace is under-funded," the secretary-general said.

Reports estimate that over 500,000 people die annually as a result of the use of small arms, many of them civilians.

However, reports indicate that the implementation of the "treaty" is still a way off. Around 50 countries need to formally ratify the resolution for it to come into effect - only seven have done so to date, while 110 UN states have signed it.