EUROPEAN WORKSHOP ON CIVILIAN-OWNED FIREARMS ENDS IN LJUBLJANA
Press Release
SOC/CP/201
EUROPEAN WORKSHOP ON CIVILIAN-OWNED FIREARMS ENDS IN LJUBLJANA
19970926 UN-Sponsored Workshop Considered `Important First Step' in Harmonizing National LegislationLJUBLJANA, 26 September (UN Information Service) -- The need for action to stem cross-border trafficking in firearms destined for use by assassins, criminal gangs and illicit sale to civilians was high on the agenda of a United Nations European workshop on problems with civilian-owned firearms, which ended here today.
Other issues addressed during the one-week session were rates of firearm-related homicides, suicides and accidents, the impact of firearm violence on public security and socio-economic welfare, and the role of organized transnational crime in the illicit trafficking of non-military firearms. Among the concerns raised was the link between firearm trafficking, drug criminality and terrorism.
The meeting, which began on 22 September, was organized by the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in cooperation with the College of Police and Security Studies of Slovenia. It brought together 46 participants from 18 countries, most of whom were experts in firearm-related fields of police work, customs and national security. The organizers considered it an important first step in meeting the challenges posed by firearm regulation.
The workshop looked at fictionalized case studies devised by the United Nations to evoke discussion of problem-solving in such areas as regulatory loopholes, insufficient export controls, the need for accessible data, and the benefits of regular contact with other countries authorities dealing with firearm matters.
The United Nations organized the meeting as the first of four regional workshops -- covering Europe and North America, Africa, Latin America and Asia -- as follow-up to the first-ever international survey of firearm ownership and regulation, a preliminary version of which was released in Vienna earlier this year. The survey, which has received data and views from 53 countries so far, is expected to be completed by early next year. Experiences exchanged and views expressed in the workshop will be taken into account by the United Nations in the preparation of a manual on dealing with firearm regulation.
- 2 - Press Release SOC/CP/201 26 September 1997
The United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice took up the issue of civilian-owned firearms only two years ago, after observing that small arms were spreading throughout society, bringing with them a host of risks. Member States had observed that with the passing of the cold war and a shift from inter-State military conflicts to other forms of insecurity, one type of weapons was killing more people than major weapons -- namely, small, illegally-owned firearms. Such arms form a major source of illicit profits for transnational criminal networks, according to the United Nations.
Although the United Nations sees the workshop series as a platform for informal discussion of a possible declaration of principles based on various approaches to record-keeping and regulation, the individual workshops are intended as preliminary exchanges of information on firearm-related issues and are not expected to produce recommendations.
Experts from the following countries took part in the Ljubljana meeting: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Greece, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States. Also participating were representatives of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division, the Helsinki-based European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, and the United Nations-associated International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council. In addition, representatives of the following non-governmental organizations presented their views: International Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Verification Technology Information Centre, and the National Rifle Association of the United States.
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