VIEWS ON FIREARMS REGULATION DISCUSSED IN CRIME COMMISSION
Press Release
SOC/CP/189
VIEWS ON FIREARMS REGULATION DISCUSSED IN CRIME COMMISSION
19960530 (Reproduced as received from UN Information Service.)VIENNA, 28 May -- A United Nations project on firearms issues including a survey on national experiences, policies and regulations, and proposed electronic database, was discussed this afternoon in the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
The representative of Japan, which, along with Canada, has been providing funding and other support for United Nations research in that area, stressed that the project was too important for its continuation to be conditional on the availability of extrabudgetary funds. He announced that Japan would present a draft resolution on the subject, and would make a voluntary cash contribution to cover some of the activities envisaged.
Also speaking on firearms issues were the representatives of China, Australia, India, Portugal and Canada. The Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division, Eduardo Vetere, introduced the topic.
Also this afternoon, the Commission concluded its discussion of technical cooperation issues, hearing statements by the representatives of Cuba, Portugal, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Israel. A representative of the African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFRI) also spoke.
Discussion
ZENAIDA OSORIO VIZCAINO, First Vice-Minister of Justice of Cuba, said that the increase in crime had had a considerable effect on the economies of many countries and that new worldwide strategies were urgently needed.
Developing countries could not meet the increased economic burden of combating transnational crime, she said. Technical cooperation should be on a par with the real needs of recipient countries. An overwhelming number of
countries had requested concrete assistance in addressing transnational crime issues. However, for many years, there had been little discussion on that subject and it appeared that many countries lacked the political will to provide the support needed. Despite its serious economic difficulties, Cuba planned to contribute substantially in support of the crime programme's technical cooperation efforts.
TERESA ALVES MARTINS (Portugal) reviewed her country's technical assistance efforts in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice, particularly with respect to the Portuguese-speaking African countries. Recently, her Government had collaborated with the United Nations in organizing a seminar for those countries, held in Sao Tome and Principe, on juvenile justice and the treatment of offenders.
In the context of bilateral cooperation, Portugal was providing support for the creation and operation of national centres that would provide on-site training for all actors in the criminal justice system of a country, including the lawyers, she said. A protocol for such a centre in Sao Tome and Principe was nearly completed.
HO-LIN LEE (Republic of Korea) noted that success in building democratic institutions and reviving the economy of a country depended largely on the observance of the rule of law and adequate security for people. Policy-makers and the public should be made aware of the multidimensional importance of international assistance in the area of crime prevention. The increase in awareness would lead to an increase in resources, he said, adding that officials from funding agencies should be included in delegations attending the Commission sessions. The internationalization of crime had made criminal activities borderless and the benefit of technical assistance in crime prevention would be felt by all countries, including donors and recipients.
He commended the activities of the Crime Prevention Division, particularly their training courses, seminars and workshops for criminal justice personnel. Because of financial constraints imposed on the Division, priority should be given to projects for developing countries and countries in transition. Criminal organizations often operated from countries whose capabilities were relatively weak, therefore, the strengthening of the criminal justice systems in those countries should be accorded permanent high priority.
The willingness of the recipient countries to monitor and evaluate projects should be taken into account when selecting them, he said. Adequate attention to differences in culture and legal systems of recipient countries should be taken into account in preparing and implementing technical assistance projects.
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V.P. PIKOLI (South Africa) began by expressing condolences and solidarity to the United Republic of Tanzania and Bangladesh for the loss of lives they had recently suffered. He urged further strengthening of the United Nations crime programme "not as a matter of charity", but as a matter of principle and active solidarity in the interest of humanity.
The transition from an undemocratic, oppressive security state was not an easy one, he said. South Africa needed all the assistance it could get to transform the system that had previously underpinned the criminal apartheid state machinery. Last week, the cabinet had approved a national crime prevention strategy that was "revolutionary" in its departure from the perceptions and methods of the old Government, which had paid little attention to ordinary crimes.
He said the new strategy was cross-cutting in that it involved a number of government departments, moving away from the notion of crime as a security issue. As various departments devised ways of popularizing and implementing the strategy, it was envisaged that there would be a number of projects requiring the involvement of international donors. South Africa cherished the intention of hosting the Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders, but found the costs prohibitive at that stage.
SEAD HODZIC, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said his country faced a difficult situation in the areas of its police force, criminal justice system and judicial system. The fact that many buildings of the judicial institutions had been damaged in the war exacerbated matters.
His Government had identified many areas in which it requested assistance from the Division, he said. Those included technical assistance to the judiciary, training of police, training of judges and prosecutors in new methods of mediation and post-penal services. Because of the importance of coordination among programmes and agencies active in providing technical assistance, his country favoured the establishment of a working group on technical cooperation and the convening of an informal group to address issues related to technical assistance, resource mobilization and strategic management.
NAOMI SHAPIRA (Israel) stressed the importance of international cooperation and technical assistance in the fight against transnational crime. Israel had provided training courses and assistance to many countries in areas including law enforcement and crime prevention. The courses encompassed technical aspects, such as the forensic aspects of a criminal investigation, and community-oriented efforts in crime prevention. Experts had visited Israel
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to study, on a first-hand basis, how the Israeli professionals worked in the field. At other times, experts from Israel would travel to other countries and provide advice and training abroad.
She was disappointed to learn that a Mediterranean regional crime prevention centre would not be established, as her country had been eager to provide expertise to it. Israel was assessing the feasibility of establishing such a centre for international training in crime prevention in Israel.
An international training centre for the prevention of drug abuse had recently been established and would hold its first course early next year, she said. The main topics that would be taught within schools included psychological counseling services, youth rehabilitation services, law enforcement, legislative aspects concerning drug abusers, community action and volunteerism.
She urged all Member States to provide a training programme in one field and subsidize part or all of that training. That would contribute significantly to the criminal justice and crime prevention and criminal justice programme in the area of technical cooperation and training. The Division could take it upon itself actively to solicit such States and assist them in the formulation of the course. That method of complementing the programme in the area of technical cooperation could be very substantive, while placing a relatively small burden on individual countries.
ISAM E. ABUGIDERI, Director of the African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFRI), recalled that last year he had informed the Commission of the difficulties faced by the Institute in offering its mandated services and that its very survival had been uncertain. Thankfully, the response to his appeal on the part of individual States, the General Assembly and the Division had enabled the Institute to avoid freezing some posts and to cover its operating expenses through the rest of the year.
He said that UNAFRI had launched a campaign to broaden its base of support and to collect contributions and arrears from its member States, which were expected to be its main financiers. It would do everything in its power to foster effective cooperation with other entities of the United Nations crime programme. He drew attention to the Institute's participation in juvenile justice training seminars in Burkina Faso, an international conference next month in Pretoria on contemporary crime and justice issues and a regional criminal justice training seminar to be held in Gaborone also next month.
EDUARDO VETERE, Officer-in-Charge of the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division, introduced the report on firearms regulation. Last year, the secretariat had been asked to collect information and consult with Member States on national policies, measures and views regarding gun ownership. Now
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before the Commission was a report which contained a summary of information received from 25 States on their experiences with regard to criminal cases, accidents and suicides involving firearms; transnational illicit trafficking in firearms; national and regional legislation and initiatives; public awareness campaigns and public opinion polls; and views on the possible preparation of a draft declaration on the subject. Seven more countries had provided comments after the present report was completed.
Also contained in the report was a summary of the work of an expert advisory group and a secretariat project team, which had considered how best to conduct a systematic and methodologically sound comparative analysis of firearms regulation in selected States, he said. The results of the group's work -- a questionnaire and guidelines -- were contained in a conference room paper.
He acknowledged the substantive and financial contributions of Japan and Canada to the preparatory work. The secretariat was being assisted in conducting the survey by the project coordinator and a number of the institutes of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice network. The project could not have been developed without such assistance, as it had not been included in the regular work programme of the Division for 1996-1997. Moreover, in order to implement the Commission's recommendations on the subject, three other expert group meetings had had to be postponed.
As proposed in the report, he said, the following steps should be considered by the Commission for future action: making recommendations to Member States on the statistical recording and reporting of firearms data, including the development of a database to be made available worldwide; encouraging additional countries to provide data and information to the secretariat; broadening the scope of the project by increasing the number of countries to be polled in successive stages of the survey; and encouraging interested countries to pursue regional and subregional cooperation to control illicit trafficking in firearms.
He said the Commission might also wish to invite intergovernmental organizations to strengthen inter-agency collaboration in assessing data on the patterns and dynamics of firearms use. It might want to consider to what extent non-governmental organizations might be involved in the survey and database project.
GORO AOKI, Chief of the Firearms Division of the Office of International Affairs of the National Police Agency of Japan, said that the secretariat study, although preliminary, had already illustrated the urgent need for member States to take concerted action to regulate illicit international trafficking in firearms. He reiterated that gun-related crimes, accidents and suicides had become a serious problem in ensuring a safe society.
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Japan was in general agreement with what was suggested in the Secretary-General's report. He stressed that the project's continuation should not be made subject to the availability of extrabudgetary funds; it was too important. The Secretary-General should make maximum efforts to secure sufficient funds from the regular United Nations budget for the undertaking.
Japan was proposing a draft resolution on the subject, which had so far attracted more than 10 other sponsors, he said. Also, in the light of the work plan presented by Mr. Vetere in an informal session, Japan would make a voluntary cash contribution to cover certain 1996 activities that were not funded by the regular budget. It would decide the exact amount once the programme budget implications of its draft resolution were determined.
WANG FAN (China) reviewed measures taken by his Government to regulate firearms, including laws which set minimum penalties for violators of those regulations. Guns used for sporting and hunting purposes required strict licensing and could be taken only into specified areas.
China, he said, categorized the theft or smuggling of guns as a very serious offence. With the opening of the country to a market economy, there had been an increase in the number of crimes, including violent crimes involving firearms. Over 80 per cent of guns used in those activities had been smuggled into China. Joint efforts between China and its neighbours had succeeded in reducing the numbers of weapons entering the country.
Public security organs had established investigation teams which used research and study tactics to track down those using firearms, with the result that the detection rate for crimes involving firearms was greater than in other criminal cases, he said. The Government had also strengthened control over the sale of firearms, including toy guns that could be used by criminals to intimidate their victims.
PETER SCOTT (Australia) said his country's firearms controls were administered at the state/territory level and the federal Government's role was confined to the customs area. The federal Government had been working with the various jurisdictions to achieve a nationwide regulatory framework that would reduce the number of firearms, eliminate all automatic and semi-automatic rifles -- with limited exceptions for enforcement agencies -- and restrict access to firearms.
Immediately following the recent tragic events at Port Arthur in Tasmania, all jurisdictions had agreed to adopt minimum standards in relation to firearms control, and to implement a range of measures to regulate the availability and use of firearms across Australia, he said. All firearms would be registered as part of an integrated and nationally linked licensing system and only those who were fit and had a genuine reason and need for a firearm would have access to one. All jurisdictions had agreed to pay compensation
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for the surrender of newly prohibited weapons. The Government would conduct a public education campaign in conjunction with the amnesty and compensation scheme, and would develop an appropriate firearms safety course.
L. C. AMARNATHAN (India) called for urgent attention to be given to arms proliferation. Worldwide, communities had been threatened by violent crimes involving firearms, causing much suffering and fear. Also, acts of terrorism invariably used firearms and illicit trafficking in arms had assumed serious proportions.
Clear policy and determination had guided his country in enacting comprehensive legislation on the issue, he said. The laws had been supported by machinery that enforced licensing and inspection and prevented firearm proliferation. However, illicit trafficking in firearms had added an alarming dimension to firearms control, defying efforts to contain proliferation. Illicit transnational trafficking in firearms was known to have links to organized crime, terrorism, drug trafficking and extortion rackets. The Commission should prepare a declaration on illicit trafficking in firearms, to encourage a greater degree of coordination among States.
Ms. ALVES MARTINS (Portugal) said that the access of citizens to firearms should not be totally prohibited. However, it must be restricted with regard to the types and calibers of weapons allowed; and principles for the possession, usage and carrying of arms and for the integrity and education of permit applicants should be spelt out. There must also be an adequate regime for monitoring and control, and rules must be adopted to control the international movement of arms. There must be sufficiently dissuasive sanctions attached to non-compliance with the regulations.
In line with her country's experience, she recommended that citizens' uses of firearms be restricted to defence, hunting and recreation. Only pistols up to 6.35 mm in caliber, and revolvers up to 7.65 mm in caliber, should be allowed. To receive a permit for self-defense, an individual must be required to demonstrate the existence of a risk, generally in the exercise of professional duties, that necessitated that type of protection. Only citizens of at least 21 years of age, with no serious criminal record, who demonstrated sufficient knowledge of the safe use of guns, should be allowed a permit to own one.
DONALD K. PIRAGOFF (Canada) said his Government required all gun owners to be licensed and to register their firearms. Several types of firearms had been prohibited, including military and paramilitary assault weapons. Legislative provisions provided minimum jail terms of four years for use of a firearm in the commission of a serious crime.
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Notwithstanding international efforts to improve cooperation in firearms control, recent shooting massacres in several countries reminded the Commission of the real and complex challenge in that field, he said. The search for solutions, at national, regional and international levels, would benefit from a neutral, fact-finding study. Information on the regulatory approaches of other countries had been extremely useful to Canada in drafting new legislation, although collection of that information had required considerable effort. Having the United Nations collect that information would relieve other States from repeating the exercise.
He thanked Japan for its leadership on firearms regulation and for providing resources for an international study on that topic and urged countries to participate in the study. The sole purpose of the research was to collect objective, baseline information from numerous countries. Once the statistics had been collected and global themes and trends had been identified, the Commission would be in a position to consider what further action might be warranted. He urged States to participate in the study and to support the ongoing international firearms initiative.
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