Japan announced a further contribution of $140,000 to the project
United Nations Press Release SOC/CP/198
12 May 1997
The draft of the first ever international survey on firearm regulation was presented to delegates. The study was conducted by the United Nations over the past 14 months and comprises data and comments from 46 Member States. Scheduled for publication later in 1997, with the addition of data from four partner countries, it is intended to assist in the development of national and international crime control and prevention strategies at a time when violent crimes, accidents and suicides involving the use of firearms are causing increasing concern. Twenty-seven countries reported a recent incident serious enough to raise public concern over firearms or focus government attention on the issue.
It was acknowledged by many speakers that there were legitimate reasons for the use of firearms, such as target practice, hunting and control of predatory animals, and that cultural, historical and legal traditions governed the use of firearms from country to country.
The delegate of the United Kingdom said that following last year's massacre at Dunblane Primary School, new legislative controls on handguns had been introduced and further measures were envisaged. The Australian delegate spoke of the speed with which a national agreement had been concluded on effective firearm regulation in the wake of the shooting deaths of 35 people in Port Arthur last year.
Several delegates called for the harmonizing of national legislations to allow more effective action on the international level. The United States, said that such an exercise would be "impractical, expensive, time-consuming and dangerous". What was required, said the speaker, was a strengthening of international cooperation and improvements in training for those involved in firearm control.
Japan announced a further contribution of $140,000 to the project
Officers, Participation
The following officers were elected: Mohamed El Fadhel Khalil (Tunisia), Chairman; Elias Jassan (Argentina), Luigi Laureola (Italy), Dariusz Manczyk (Poland), Vice-Chairmen; Amir Hossein Zamaninia (Iran), Rapporteur.
The session was attended by representatives of 39 members of the Commission: Angola, Argentina, Austria, Belarus, Bolivia, Burundi, Canada, China, Colombia,Costa Rica, Egypt, Fiji, France, Gambia, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Thailand, Tunisia, Ukraine and United States.
The following 65 States were observers: Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Gabon, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Holy See, Hungary, India, Ireland, Iraq, Israel, Kazakstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Malta, Morocco, Norway, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe.
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