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Firearm violence, gun control and small arms

Russian Boy Unintentionally Kills Brother with Unregistered Gun

12 May 2013

Reuters

A 7-year-old Russian boy told investigators he had shot and killed his 4-year-old brother by accident with their grandfather's rifle on Sunday, law enforcement authorities said. The boy said he and his brother had found the gun under a bed in their grandparents' house in the Siberian town of Bukachacha and were playing with it on the porch while the adults slept, the federal Investigative Committee said. The boy said he accidentally pulled the trigger while trying to... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Reuters

Russian Police Detain Several People Over Celebratory Shootings

28 April 2013

RIA Novosti (Russia)

MOSCOW – Police have detained at least nine people traveling in a wedding caravan of five cars for allegedly firing celebratory shots in southern Moscow on Sunday, a police spokesman has said. "A wedding cortege of Azerbaijan's nationals has been detained at the entrance to the Tsaritsyno park," the spokesman said adding that the passengers and the drivers have been taken to a police department to "give explanations over the shooting." Police have halted a caravan... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

Russian President Opposes Idea of Free Gun Sales for Defensive Use

27 April 2013

RIA Novosti (Russia)

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday he opposes the idea of allowing Russians to buy guns freely for self-defense purposes. "I do not support the idea of free arms distribution in Russia," Putin told Rossiya 24 television adding: "It is dangerous to artificially stimulate this process." The idea came after a shocking massacre in downtown Belgorod, southwest Russia, on Monday afternoon, which left six people dead. A gunman killed three people... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

Russian Mass Shooting Suspect Has Criminal Record, History of Aggression

24 April 2013

BBC News

A gunman suspected of shooting six people dead in the western Russian city of Belgorod on Monday has been captured, Russian police have said. Sergei Pomazun, 31, was detained after being caught trying to flee the city on a freight train. The manhunt lasted more than 24 hours and involved over 2,000 police. Mr Pomazun is believed to have shot dead three people in a hunting shop and three passers-by. He is said to have wounded a policeman during his capture. When... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: BBC News

Russian Man Steals Rifle, Shoots and Kills Six People

22 April 2013

Reuters

MOSCOW - A man shot dead six people, including two schoolgirls, with a rifle after robbing a hunting shop in the western Russian city of Belgorod on Monday, local officials said. Police said their main suspect was a former convict in his thirties, adding that the attacker had fled in an expensive car. The man, who was still on the run on Monday evening, first opened fire at the personnel of the shop and then also shot dead passersby outside in the city's main street,... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Reuters

Russia Govt Passes New Law to Crack Down on Shootings in Public

17 April 2013

RIA Novosti (Russia)

MOSCOW - Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, on Wednesday adopted in the first reading a bill toughening punishment for shooting in public places. The amendments to the Russian Administrative Offenses Code were proposed by a group of Duma deputies. In line with the draft law, those shooting in inhabited localities and at sites where shooting is not allowed will be fined 50,000 rubles ($1,575), their weapons license suspended, weapons seized, and may... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

Poland,Ukraine,Israel,Côte d'Ivoire,Bulgaria,Belarus,China,Angola,Russia

Guns Easily Available in Côte D'Ivoire Despite Embargo

16 April 2013

IRIN (UN News)

ABIDJAN - Côte d'Ivoire's recent turbulence - including the ouster of president Henri Konan Bédié in 1999, a long-running insurgency and deadly poll unrest in 2011 - has left the country awash in arms, which have contributed to human rights abuses, widespread crime and persistent insecurity. Two years after coming to power in 2000, Laurent Gbagbo's administration faced an army mutiny, which morphed into a full-scale rebellion. In response, the government underwent a... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: IRIN (UN News)

Lovesick Russian Man Takes Girl Hostage With Replica Uzi

15 April 2013

RIA Novosti (Russia)

ST. PETERSBURG - Police officers freed a female undergraduate student who was being held hostage by a man she spurned, the Interior Ministry said on Monday. The young woman was captured at a university dormitory near St. Petersburg on Sunday morning and held by a man armed with an Uzi CO2 BB gun and a kitchen knife. The girl's friend called the police, who arrived at the scene and eventually talked the man into laying down his arms and turning himself in. The hostage... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

Russian Police Find World War II Gun Arsenal in Apartment

5 April 2013

RIA Novosti (Russia)

KALININGRAD – Russian police in the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad have discovered an arsenal of World War II firearms in an apartment belonging to a local resident, the regional Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Friday. "They found an MG 34 machinegun, MP 38 and MP 40 sub-machineguns, a PPSh sub-machinegun and also five bolts, three pistol grips with trigger mechanisms, and six gun barrels from an unidentified model. In addition, there were also 220 rounds of... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

India,Egypt,Russia,China

China Says UN Arms Treaty Lacks Consensus

3 April 2013

South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)

There is no consensus on an international arms trade treaty, major weapons exporter China said on Wednesday, after it abstained as the UN General Assembly passed the measure by 154 votes to three. The only votes against the first treaty on the conventional arms trade were from Syria, North Korea and Iran. The 23 countries abstaining included Russia and China, ranked respectively as the number two and five weapons exporters by the Stockholm International Peace Research... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)

Turkey,Syria,Russia,France

Turkish Authorities Seize Guns Bound for Syria

29 March 2013

RTÉ (Dublin)

Turkish authorities say they have seized thousands of guns in a warehouse by the Syrian border. A local news agency said the weapons had been destined for Turkey's war-torn neighbour. The firearms, including more than 5,000 shotguns and rifles, starting pistols, gunstocks and 10,000 cartridges, were discovered during a raid in a village on the edge of the Turkish town of Akcakale. The Dogan News Agency said the weapons were being stored on the edge of the border... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RTÉ (Dublin)

Russians Debate the Right to Bear Arms After Shooting

26 March 2013

Russia and India Report

"If you outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns" – so goes the famous slogan of the National Rifle Association in the US. Until recently, few people thought that this would ever be a contentious issue in Russia. But the case of Alexandra Lotkova, a 21-year-old Moscow student, is stoking the fire of a debate that will eventually spill into the open. Lotkova was jailed for three years this month because she injured a man with a shot from a travmatichesky pistol, or... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Russia and India Report

Romania,Burkina Faso,Poland,Russia,Latvia,Tunisia,Guinea,Senegal,Bulgaria,China,Africa,Europe,Côte d'Ivoire

Arms Proliferation and Abuse Shatter Communities in Côte d'Ivoire - AI

20 March 2013

Amnesty International (London)

Reckless and illegal arms supplies from Europe, Africa and China to the warring parties in Côte d'Ivoire over the past decade continue to fuel grave human rights abuses and violent crime in the country, Amnesty International said in a detailed report launched at the United Nations (UN) headquarters. The 33-page report, Communities shattered by arms proliferation and abuse in Côte d'Ivoire, documents how a handful of states and a network of multinational arms... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Amnesty International (London)

Germany,United Kingdom,France,Mexico,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,China,Russia,United States

Armed Violence Kills 66,000 Women and Girls Each Year

20 March 2013

New Zealand Herald, Associated Press

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has urged the world's nations to agree on a strong UN treaty to regulate the multibillion-dollar global arms trade in the next two weeks, saying it will save lives and make it more difficult for warlords, organised criminals and terrorists to obtain weapons. Hopes of reaching agreement on what would be a landmark treaty were dashed last July when the United States said it needed more time to consider the proposed accord - a... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: New Zealand Herald, Associated Press

Africa,Americas,Asia,Europe,Oceania,United States,Russia,Italy,Germany,Brazil,Switzerland,Israel,Austria,South Korea,Belgium,Spain,Turkey,Norway,Canada,United Kingdom,Australia,France,Pakistan,Yemen,Honduras,El Salvador,Jamaica

Fact and Figures: Global Trade in Small Arms

18 March 2013

al Jazeera

Diplomats from around the world have gathered at the UN for talks on an international arms trade treaty, in an effort to stop the sale of illegal conventional arms. Similar talks held last July failed, mainly due to the objections of the US and Russia, the world's two largest arms exporters. Al Jazeera has compiled a list of facts related to the global production and trading of small arms. 1. Authorised international transfers of small arms, light weapons, their... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: al Jazeera

China,Russia,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,United States

UN Revives Effort on Pact to Regulate Arms Trade

17 March 2013

New York Times

In the shadow of the re-energized gun-control debate in the United States, negotiators at the United Nations will reconvene this week to try to reach a final agreement on a treaty to regulate the global trade in conventional weapons, a lucrative business that rights groups call the main source of illicit arms fueling deadly conflicts around the world. "I am confident that member states will overcome their differences and muster the political will needed to agree on... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: New York Times

Russia,China,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,United States

NRA Opposes UN Arms Trade Treaty

16 March 2013

Washington Post

The National Rifle Association, which is battling a raft of gun control measures on Capitol Hill, also has an international fight on its hand as it gears up to oppose a U.N. treaty designed to restrict the flow of arms to conflict zones. Negotiations open Monday in New York on the Arms Trade Treaty, which would require countries to determine whether weapons they sell would be used to commit serious human rights violations, terrorism or transnational organized... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Washington Post

India,Egypt,Syria,Russia,United States,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa

Urgent Call for Tighter Rules on International Arms Trade - Oxfam

12 March 2013

Oxfam International (Oxford), Media release

Draft Arms Trade Treaty text littered with loopholes which need fixing urgently to save lives More than 325,000 people are estimated to have lost their lives through armed violence since negotiations for a treaty to regulate the global arms trade for the first time ground to a halt in July last year, say Oxfam and Saferworld, part of the Control Arms Coalition. The Control Arms Coalition calls on world leaders to urgently adopt robust rules on international transfers... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Oxfam International (Oxford)

Europe,China,Asia,Americas,Oceania,Kenya,Cuba,Côte d'Ivoire,Africa,Central America,Russia,United States

Women Explain Why an Arms Trade Treaty Can Save Many Lives

7 March 2013

Amnesty International (London), Media release

It is estimated at least half a million people are killed with guns every year and on average a further 200,000 men, women and children die as an indirect result of armed conflicts and violence that are frequently fuelled by the uncontrolled flow of small arms. And for every person that is killed in an armed conflict, many more are injured and tortured, raped, abused, forcibly disappeared, taken hostage or displaced. Even more have their access to food, water, shelter,... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Amnesty International (London)

Russian Police Raid Illegal Gun Workshop Making and Repairing Guns

7 March 2013

RIA Novosti (Russia)

MOSCOW – The police and the Federal Security Service (FSB) have uncovered an underground arms factory and large cache of firearms in the Moscow Region, the Interior Ministry reported on Thursday. "Two underground workshops for arms re-engineering were liquidated and four suspected criminal gang members were arrested," the police reported in a statement. The workshops were based in two garages west of Moscow, where the security forces discovered at least nine machine... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

Russian Police Seize Large Cache of 'Black Market' Weapons

26 February 2013

RIA Novosti (Russia)

MOSCOW – Police has confiscated over 100 pieces of weaponry during a raid on an apartment in eastern Moscow owned by a suspected arms dealer. "The seized arsenal included 24 Kalashnikov assault rifles, 34 Makarov handguns, 14 TT pistols, four Nagan revolvers, a Walther and a Parabellum pistols, three machine-guns, six rifles, a hand grenade and several fuses," police said in a statement on Monday. The suspect, a 40-year-old Muscovite whose identity has not been... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

Russia,Nigeria,Madagascar,Guinea

Nigeria Charges Russian 'Gun Dealers' for Smuggling

19 February 2013

BBC News

Fifteen Russian sailors have been charged in a court in Nigeria's main city, Lagos, with illegally bringing weapons into the country. The crew of the MV Myre Seadiver were denied bail by the High Court, pending a final ruling on Monday. The Nigerian navy had seized the ship, owned by Moscow-based security firm Moran, last October. Moran has said the ship had permission to carry arms and had stopped in Lagos to change crew. The vessel had been travelling from... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: BBC News

United Arab Emirates,Russia

Russia Offers UAE Ammo Production Deal

18 February 2013

RIA Novosti (Russia)

ABU-DHABI - Russia is ready to offer the United Arab Emirates license-production of ammunition for BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles previously sold to the country, Pribor defense firm chief Oleg Chizhevsky said on Monday. "About 700 BMP-3's have been delivered to the UAE; naturally, there is high demand for those shells and we are ready to meet it in any form, in any format," he said at the IDEX-2013 international arms exhibition in Abu Dhabi. He did not specify which... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

Finland,United States,European Union,Germany,Switzerland,Russia,South Africa,Mexico

Registry Shows Germans Fourth in World For Guns

17 February 2013

Local (Germany)

Figures compiled for Germany's new National Weapons Registry reveal that there are 5.4 million legally owned guns in the country, making it the world's fourth most-armed nation per capita. Der Spiegel magazine reported on Sunday that the state of Bavaria topped the list with 1.1 million, followed by North Rhine-Westphalia with 1 million and Baden-Württemberg with 700,000. The new national gun register bundles together the data from over 500 local authorities, which... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Local (Germany)

Russia,Afghanistan,Israel,Belgium,United States

How Video Games Fund Arms Manufacturers and Sell Guns

31 January 2013

EuroGamer

The American confectionery company Victoria Sweets claims to have invented the candy cigarette. A thin stick of chocolate, wrapped in edible paper and designed to impersonate a roll-up, it debuted in 1915 and soon became the accessory of choice for children keen to play grown-up. Hollywood star, GI Joe, team captain: the sweet gave kids the chance try out one of the vogue props of adulthood. Within 20 years it was so popular that cigarette companies began to take... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: EuroGamer

Czech Republic,Hungary,Côte d'Ivoire,Iran,Guinea,Niger,Russia,South Sudan,China,Uganda,Afghanistan,Nigeria,Kenya,Iraq,Congo (DRC)

Trail of Bullet Casings Leads From Africa's Wars Back to Iran

11 January 2013

New York Times

The first clues appeared in Kenya, Uganda and what is now South Sudan. A British arms researcher surveying ammunition used by government forces and civilian militias in 2006 found Kalashnikov rifle cartridges he had not seen before. The ammunition bore no factory code, suggesting that its manufacturer hoped to avoid detection. Within two years other researchers were finding identical cartridges circulating through the ethnic violence in Darfur. Similar ammunition then... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: New York Times

United States,Russia,China,Mexico

Mexico's Gun Problems Go Beyond Drug Wars

11 January 2013

Inter Press Service News Agency

MEXICO CITY - A lot of attention goes to the U.S.-made weapons in the hands of criminal groups in this Latin American country. But there is little talk of another problem: the large number of light weapons in the hands of civilians. The Mexican Constitution establishes the people's right to "own guns in their homes for their safety and self-defence", with the exception of high caliber weapons, while the 1972 Federal Law on Firearms and Explosives stipulates the... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Inter Press Service News Agency

Russia Asks Nigeria to Release Alleged Gun, Ammo Smugglers

10 January 2013

This Day (Lagos)

The Russian government Wednesday called for the immediate release of the 15 sailors arrested by the Nigerian Navy for allegedly smuggling arms into the country. Nigerian authorities intercepted a ship and arrested its Russian crew on October 23 last year after they found 14 AK-47 rifles guns and 8,500 rounds of ammunition on board. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the sailors were facing a court case initiated "under false pretexts" and that Nigeria broke a promise... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: This Day (Lagos)

Russia,Ukraine,Kenya,East Africa,European Union,Israel,Libya,Yemen,Ethiopia,United States,Somalia

Special Investigation: Lack of Gun Treaty Fuels Kenyan Smuggling Trade

9 January 2013

Star (Kenya)

Whether looking after his herd of cattle or taking them to the watering point, Boru hardly leaves his AK47 behind. He lives in the outskirts of Gambella village, a few kilometres from Isiolo town. "It has become like a stick for me. I carry it around and my enemies fear me. It gives me more power than I had before I acquired it," Boru said. Taking cover from the scorching sun under the shade of an old acacia tree, Boru, a father of three, told the Star he bought his... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Star (Kenya)

Guatemala,El Salvador,Venezuela,United States,Australia,Jamaica,Russia,Colombia

NRA 'Good Guys With Guns' Theory Already Disproved in Latin America

5 January 2013

New York Times

In the wake of the tragic shooting deaths at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., last month, the National Rifle Association proposed that the best way to protect schoolchildren was to place a guard — a "good guy with a gun" — in every school, part of a so-called National School Shield Emergency Response Program. Indeed, the N.R.A.'s solution to the expansion of gun violence in America has been generally to advocate for the more widespread deployment and... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: New York Times

Russia,Belarus,Europe

Men Jailed for Smuggling Guns, Ammo into Russia

13 December 2012

RIA Novosti (Russia)

BRYANSK - The Bryansk city court in western Russia sentenced two businessmen to three and four years in prison on Thursday for illegal arms imports from Europe via Belarus, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said. The operation was set up in 2010 by a Russian and a Belarusian national based in the city of Mogilev. The handguns and ammunition they brought in were sold mainly to organized crime groups in Russia. Police broke up the operation in September 2011 when a... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

Russian Poll Shows Civilians Think More Guns Means More Risk

23 November 2012

Kyiv Post (Ukraine) / Interfax (Ukraine)

MOSCOW - The overwhelming majority of Russians (82%) object to arms trade liberalization. They think that unlimited access to weapons may increase the crime rate. Only 13% support free selling of weapons and 5% do not know, the Public Opinion Foundation said in comment on a poll held in 100 towns and cities in 43 regions on November 17-18. Seventy-eight percent of 1,500 respondents said they would not buy weapons even if Russia permitted free selling of armaments to... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Kyiv Post (Ukraine) / Interfax (Ukraine)

Russia Proposes Tougher Gun Laws After Alcohol-Fueled Mass Shooting

8 November 2012

Russian Legal Information Agency

MOSCOW - Amendments which tighten the regulations for carrying weapons may be approved in the near future in response to a recent incident in Moscow where a 30-year-old lawyer shot dead five of his colleagues, Izvestia daily reported, citing the head of the licensing service of the Interior Ministry Leonid Vedenov. The newspaper reported that the draft amendments to the law "On Weapons" will be submitted to the Interior Ministry's administration. "We have proposed... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Russian Legal Information Agency

Russian Arms Company Rogozin Wants Kalashnikov Merger

3 November 2012

RIA Novosti (Russia)

KLIMOVSK - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin called on Saturday for a merger of two of Russia's leading small-arms makers, Izhmash and Izhmekh, under the Kalashnikov brand. "We need to set up a new-old brand, named 'Kalashnikov', based on the two old factories," said Rogozin, who has special responsibilities for Russia's arms industry, during a visit to the TsNIITOCHMASH arms plant near Moscow. Oleg Bochkaryev, a member of Russia's military-technical... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

Russia Gets Tough on Celebratory Gunfire at Weddings

28 October 2012

Daily Beast (Russia)

A caravan of cars with tinted windows and streaming ribbons stretches along the highway. Drum music accompanies the proud procession; gun-shot salutes ring out, calling neighbors to join the happy event. Guests gather outside in the courtyards of apartment buildings to clap, fire off more guns, and cheer. Couples perform the Lezginka, the traditional dance of the region. This is a typical scene for a wedding in the North Caucasus, and for many years, one rarely seen... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Daily Beast (Russia)

Three Die in Shooting as Russia Police Attempt Arrest of Alleged Militants

24 October 2012

BBC News

At least two suspected Islamic militants and a member of the security forces have been shot dead in a clash in the central Russian city of Kazan, local officials say. The shooting came after the militants were surrounded in a residential building in an operation against "especially dangerous criminals". Police said one of the dead militants was wearing a suicide belt. Kazan is capital of a region with large numbers of Muslim Tatars and Bashkirs. Officials said the... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: BBC News

Iraq Govt Signs $4.2b Arms Deal with Russia

9 October 2012

BBC News

Iraq has signed contracts to buy Russian arms worth $4.2bn (£2.6bn; 3.2bn euros) this year, Russian news agencies report. Moscow, the main supplier of arms to Iraq under Saddam Hussein, thus becomes the country's second-biggest arms supplier after the US. The new contracts were announced after talks between the two countries' prime ministers near Moscow on Tuesday. Reports suggest attack helicopters and missiles are included in them. Iraq has been rebuilding its... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: BBC News

Russian Weapons May Get Electronic Chip to Monitor Use, Ownership

9 October 2012

Voice of Russia (Moscow)

Russian weapons will fire only in the hands of their legitimate owners. A unique system of control over the operation of weapons has been developed by the order of the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Industry and Trade. An electronic chip fitted into a pistol or machine-gun will be able to identify the marksman and block the shot if the biometrical information does not fit. A photo, fingerprints, retina peculiarities and other personal information will be... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Voice of Russia (Moscow)

Russia Calls for Ban on Gun Sales to NGO End-Users, Prevents Diversion

8 October 2012

Russia Beyond the Headlines / Interfax

Russia has called on the world to agree on selling small arms and light weapons only to authorized dealers of importer countries, Russian Foreign Ministry security and disarmament department head Alexander Deineko said in an interview with Interfax. Russia has suggested a set of measures, which would tighten control over the distribution of small arms and light weapons, primarily in the areas where the risk of an arms leak to the black market is high, he said. "For... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Russia Beyond the Headlines / Interfax

Anger Over $3 Fine for Celebratory Gun Shots in Russia's Capital

1 October 2012

Daily Reporter (Indiana)

MOSCOW — It was an unusual wedding escort even for Moscow's brash style: A red Ferrari led a motorcade in which guests fired celebratory shots from car windows as they sped down one of the city's main avenues near Red Square. Sunday's parade drew an angry reaction from the Kremlin-controlled parliament, where senior lawmakers voiced outrage Monday after wedding guests from the province of Dagestan in Russia's North Caucasus walked away with $3 fines. Just one man was... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Daily Reporter (Indiana)

Drunken Russian Cop Kills Colleague While Shooting Bottles

28 August 2012

Moscow Times

A drunken cop accidentally killed a colleague while out shooting bottles near a Chelyabinsk region railroad, Urals transportation investigators said Monday. According to investigators, the 25-year-old policeman killed his 30-year-old colleague in February after inadvertently firing at him while passing him a rifle by the Nyazepetrovsk-Uraim railroad. The rifle, which the pair were using for target practice, was pointed at the head of the colleague at the time. The... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Moscow Times

Peru,Argentina,Dominican Republic,Colombia,Mexico,Russia,United States

What Google's Arms Trafficking Map Tells Us

28 August 2012

InSight Crime (Bogota)

The lights blanketing the globe on Google's latest foray into data visualization tell a hidden story of the gun trafficking business: that understanding the movement of ammunition is just as important as understanding the movement of weapons. Google says the interactive map, which was a joint initiative between Google Ideas and the Brazil-based Igarape Institute, was pulled together using more than a million data points of small arms, light weapons, and ammunition... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: InSight Crime (Bogota)

United States,Russia

Russian Town Sells 'Tens of Thousands' of Assault Rifles to US

14 August 2012

New York Times

IZHEVSK, Russia — The nickname of this town, home of the factory that makes Kalashnikov rifles, is the "Armory of Russia." Over the years, it has armed a good number of other countries, too, as the lathes and presses of the Izhevsk Machine Works clanged around the clock to forge AK-47s and similar guns for insurgents and armies around the world. But these days, many of Izhevsk's weapons are headed somewhere else: the United States. Despite the gun's violent history... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: New York Times

Russian Police Seize Cache of Guns, Anti-Tank Rifle From Home

3 August 2012

RIA Novosti (Russia)

Russian investigators arrested a man in northwest Russia on Thursday for arms offences, including possession of an anti-tank rifle, the police said on Friday. Police raided the man's apartment and country house in Gatchina, Leningrad Region, and uncovered an arsenal of weapons including the anti-tank rifle, pistols, grenades, mortar, and aircraft machine-guns, city police said. The unemployed 39-year-old man was detained after he tried to sell a TT-30 semi-automatic... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

China,Russia,United States

US Gun Lobby Wins One, Beats Back UN Treaty to Slow World Gun Trade

29 July 2012

San Francisco Chronicle

When a global treaty to limit shady weapons sales gets swept up in the gun-control debate, it's clear that this country has a problem. A bloc of U.S. senators, chiefly Republicans with a sprinkling of Democrats, has managed to derail a U.N. treaty to restrict weapons sales between countries. The reasoning is spurious and shameful, a political play on distrust of the United Nations and unfounded fears about a loss of domestic gun rights. But the threat was enough to... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: San Francisco Chronicle

Russia Plans to Relax Handgun Laws, 'Promote Weapons Culture'

24 July 2012

Russia and India Report

The Federation Council, the upper chamber of Russia's State Duma, has proposed that the public be allowed to own and use firearms. Alexander Torshin, deputy speaker of the Federation Council, is planning to submit a draft bill to the president that would allow service pistols to be used in self-defense. According to the document, a person would not be jailed for shooting under such circumstances. The bill is expected to be submitted to the State Duma early next year. ... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Russia and India Report

Mauritius,Russia

Mauritius Bans Ex-Associates of Gun Smuggler from Operating Airline

17 July 2012

New York Times

MOSCOW — Two former business associates of Viktor Bout, the convicted Russian arms dealer now in federal prison in the United States, have been blocked by the government of Mauritius from setting up an aviation company that could have been used for smuggling guns, according to the government and a private American arms investigation group. In a report scheduled for release on Wednesday, the group, Conflict Awareness Project, says that Mr. Bout's former lieutenants... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: New York Times

Angola,Africa,West Africa,Venezuela,Iran,Egypt,Algeria,South Sudan,Liberia,Germany,France,China,United Kingdom,Russia,United States,South Africa

For Africa, Ammunition Control Deserves Global Gun Trade Treaty Focus

9 July 2012

IRIN (UN News)

JOHANNESBURG — For a couple of hundred dollars or less an arms dealer can illegally source a blank end user certificate with the required signatures and stamps - needed to transfer weapons across international borders - and "if no one checks its authenticity (often the case) he can ship his wares to the world's hotspots with minimal risk, for maximum profit," a report by the Small Arms Survey (SAS) said in 2008. Since then "not much has changed" Glenn McDonald, based... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: IRIN (UN News)

Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,United States,Pakistan,Cuba,Iran,China,Russia

Arms Trade Treaty Should Cover Broad Range of Arms and Ammunition

8 July 2012

New York Times, Editorial

The world is awash in conventional weapons, like tanks, firearms and aircraft, with the market valued at $40 billion to $60 billion a year. Far too many of these arms are fueling conflicts and atrocities in Syria, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and beyond. They have been used to kill countless innocent civilians, and they will be used against countless more if the international community does not find a way to keep them out of the hands of unscrupulous regimes,... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: New York Times

United States,India,Russia

Russia's Position on the Arms Trade Treaty

6 July 2012

Voice of Russia (Moscow)

Russia has one of the most well developed arms control systems in the world and we have only one arms exporting nongovernmental agency which controls all arms trade. Interview with Sergey Denisentsev – expert of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies from Moscow, Russia. What is the position of Russia on IATT? Well, the key difference between the Russian approach towards IATT and the approach of countries of the EU is the matter of goals of IATT.... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Voice of Russia (Moscow)

Oceania,Russia,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,United States,Syria,Egypt,China,United Kingdom

UK to Push for Ammunition Control in Arms Trade Treaty

28 June 2012

Independent (UK) / Press Association (UK)

Britain is to push for ammunition sales to be covered by new international arms trade controls despite strong resistance from the US. The UK sees the inclusion of ammunition as an essential element of the proposed Arms Trade Treaty and will negotiate hard for it when a month-long conference opens at the United Nations in New York next week. But the British delegation faces opposition from a number of countries including China, Egypt and Syria but also its traditional... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Independent (UK) / Press Association (UK)

Colombia,Chad,Sudan,Congo (DRC),Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,European Union,Pakistan,India,China,Africa,Russia,Syria

NGOs Set Minimum Specifications for Arms Trade Treaty [Francais]

27 June 2012

Le Monde (France), Opinion

[Translated summary: Associations, NGOs and hundreds of members of the global coalition "Control Arms" have set minimum specifications for the future Arms Trade Treaty. It will have to control all types of conventional arms and ammunition used by military as well as by law enforcement, since they can be used for serious human rights violations. ATT will include exports but also imports, transit and all types of transfers and all actors, such as arms brokers, like Viktor... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Le Monde (France)

Russia,Venezuela

More Assault Rifles Floating Around, the Last Thing South America Needs

15 June 2012

Honduras Weekly, Editorial

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said on Wednesday that his country has built several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and has plans to potentially export them to other Latin American countries. The president of Compañia Anonima Venezolana de Industrias Militares (Cavim) says the drones have a radius of 100 kilometers, a flying time of 90 minutes and a maximum altitude of 3,000 feet. The plane can transmit live streaming video and take high resolution... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Honduras Weekly

Russia,Colombia,Venezuela

Venezuela Set to Produce 25,000 Kalashnikovs, Sniper Rifles a Year

14 June 2012

InSight Crime (Bogota)

Venezuela is nearing completion of an arms factory which will produce 25,000 Kalashnikov and sniper rifles a year, a development which could have troublesome implications for the conflict in neighboring Colombia. In a June 13 televised speech, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez praised an arms factory in Aragua state, constructed with Russian assistance. Though it is still waiting on equipment from Russia, when production is at full capacity the factory will be able to... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: InSight Crime (Bogota)

United States,United Kingdom,Russia,Germany,France,China,Africa

The 'Big Six' Arms Exporters - Amnesty International

11 June 2012

Amnesty International (London)

DOCUMENT 1. China There are few official statistics on the Chinese arms trade but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates that accounts for around 3 per cent of the global trade in conventional arms. Countries supplied Recipient countries over the past decade have tended to be developing countries with poor human rights records including Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, DRC, Guinea, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Myanmar,... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Amnesty International (London)

Sierra Leone,Yemen,Syria,Algeria,Iran,Somalia,China,Belarus,Italy,Germany,Bulgaria,Austria,Russia,Tunisia,United Kingdom,United States,Qatar,Sudan,Africa,Libya,Egypt,France

An Arms Buyback for Libya? – Analysis

9 June 2012

Eurasia Review (EU/Asia)

The Libyan civil war of early 2011 was one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history, with an estimated 30,000 killed and 50,000 injured. While Muammar Gaddafi's death marked a watershed moment in Libyan history, the months of frenzied violence that preceded it saw a massive buildup of arms and munitions in the country. In the months leading up to and after his fall, Gaddafi's arms warehouses all across the country became unsecured; such was the level of... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Eurasia Review (EU/Asia)

United States,France,United Kingdom,China,Pakistan,Venezuela,Cuba,Iran,Algeria,Egypt,Russia,Syria,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa

New Global Arms Treaty Must Set Tough, Legally Binding Rules - Oxfam

29 May 2012

Chicago Tribune / Reuters

LONDON - States must set legally binding global rules on weapon and ammunition sales, aid agency Oxfam said on Tuesday, ahead of a United Nations summit to agree an arms treaty to prevent arms reaching human rights violators. Citing the example of Syria, which has continued to receive arms shipments even as it is accused of killing more than 9,000 civilians in a crackdown on a popular uprising, Oxfam said it is vital that regulations on weapons sales are... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Chicago Tribune / Reuters

Russia,France,China,Oceania,United Kingdom,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,Germany,United States

Arms Trade Treaty: Will World Waste an Extraordinary Opportunity?

24 May 2012

Guardian (UK)

I often write a reflective piece to accompany the publication of the Amnesty International annual report on the state of the world's human rights, and as a result I have an archive of reflective pieces which read as a chronology of progress and problems charted over the last decade. We shall see whether the 2012 report will be the one that came just months before the world secured a binding, bulletproof arms trade treaty in the negotiations due to take place in July, or... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Guardian (UK)

Russia,Syria,United States,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa

Arms-control, Humanitarian Groups Push for 'Bullet-proof' Arms Treaty

24 May 2012

Bloomberg (USA)

Arms-control and humanitarian groups are pressing President Barack Obama to seek a tough international treaty restricting sales of conventional arms. "We are writing to encourage you and your administration to spare no effort to seize the historic opportunity to negotiate a robust, bullet-proof Arms Trade Treaty," groups including the Arms Control Association, Amnesty International USA and Oxfam America wrote in a letter to Obama. The United Nations will attempt in... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Bloomberg (USA)

Russian Bill to Relieve from Criminal Liability Individuals Who Forfeit Guns

22 May 2012

RIA Novosti (Russia) / RAPSI

MOSCOW - The Supreme Court will introduce a draft law to the State Duma proposing to relieve individuals who forfeit illegally possessed arms from criminal liability, even if they had used those weapons to commit crimes, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency on Tuesday. "The bill will bring greater transparency and certainty to the criminal law which states that an individual who voluntarily gives up his arms will be relieved from criminal liability,... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia) / RAPSI

Hong Kong,Italy,Germany,Israel,Austria,Bulgaria,Russia,India

Over 29,000 Russian AK-47s Imported by Indian Paramilitary Forces

20 May 2012

Times of India

NEW DELHI - AK-47s continue to be the preferred assault weapon for the country's paramilitary forces deployed to neutralise terrorists and Maoists at the frontiers and in the hinterland. Over 29,000 pieces of this Russian-origin rifle were imported by forces like CRPF, BSF and NSG over the last three years, leaving behind, by a large margin, other sophisticated assault weapons procured from the US and Israel. The inventory of the assault weapons procured for security... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Times of India

Brazil,Turkey,China,Pakistan,Central Asia,Russia,Afghanistan

Where Do 20 Million Illegal Guns Come From? Afghanistan, Says Pakistan

17 May 2012

Express Tribune (Pakistan)

KARACHI - There are an estimated 20 million illegal arms in circulation in Pakistan. This includes serious firepower: law enforcement authorities are increasingly coming under attack from criminals and terrorists armed with heavy weapons such as grenades (including rocket-propelled ones), long-range sniper rifles and machine guns. The volatile situation in Lyari was a case in point, where despite the fact that police were equipped with tank-like armoured personnel... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Express Tribune (Pakistan)

Russia,China,United States,United Kingdom,Congo (DRC),Myanmar,Iran

UK Minister Calls for International Support on Arms Trade Treaty

17 May 2012

Guardian (UK)

The international arms trade has become the greatest threat to development and has to be controlled by a tough treaty to regulate weapons and munitions sales, a government minister warns. In a speech to the Institute for Strategic Studies thinktank, Alan Duncan, the minister for international development, will urge allies such as the US to set aside their concerns and sign up to the comprehensive arms trade treaty (ATT), which will be hammered out during a month-long... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Guardian (UK)

Russia,China,United States

US Marines Stole, Sold Nearly $2 Million in Guns to Gangs, China, Russia

15 May 2012

International Business Times (US)

U.S. Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C., stole and sold approximately $2 million in guns and combat equipment to streets gangs and to China and Russia, military officials confirmed. The stolen guns and combat gear included assault rifles, night-vision goggles and flashlights. More than 60 people have been implicated in the incident, the Daily News in Jacksonville, N.C., reported. 47 service members and 21 civilians have been charged so far. Several of them have already... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: International Business Times (US)

Ethiopia,South Africa,Burkina Faso,Sierra Leone,West Africa,Ukraine,Côte d'Ivoire,Eastern Europe,Russia,Central African Republic,Iraq,Afghanistan,United States,Colombia,Angola,Liberia,North Africa,West Asia,Africa

Shadowy 'Merchants of Death' Behind Africa's Illegal Gun-Running

11 April 2012

Think Africa Press (London)

Arms dealer Viktor Bout was sentenced to 25 years by a US federal court last week. Widely known as the 'merchant of death', the 45-year-old Russian has delivered weapons and arms to a wide range of presidents, insurgents and rebels in Africa and the Middle East including the likes of Charles Taylor in Liberia and Jonas Savimbi in Angola. He was caught in a US sting in which his services were solicited for the supply of weapons to Colombia's FARC rebels. His companies... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Think Africa Press (London)

Qatar,East Africa,Russia,North Korea,China,West Asia,North Africa,Syria,Mali,Libya,Belgium,West Africa

Small Arms Manufactured in Belgium Proliferate in Libya, Mali [Francais]

11 April 2012

L'Express (France) / AFP

[Translated summary: Notwithstanding risks of proliferation, small arms manufactured in Belgium circulate in Libya, Mali, and maybe tomorrow in Syria? Belgium is the biggest european exporter of small arms: in 2010, 32% of european exports of small arms to Middle East and North Africa came from this country.] Malgré les mises en garde à Bruxelles sur les risques de prolifération, les armes légères fabriquées en Belgique circulent de la Libye au Mali. Et demain,... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: L'Express (France) / AFP

West Asia,North Africa,South America,Africa,United States,Russia

Russian Arms Dealer Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison by US Judge

5 April 2012

New York Times / Reuters

NEW YORK - Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer caught in an undercover sting by U.S. agents posing as Colombian guerrillas seeking weapons, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday by a U.S. judge in New York. Bout, who was the subject of a book titled "Merchant of Death," asserted his innocence during the sentencing, telling the judge through a Russian interpreter, "I never intended to kill anyone. I never intended to sell arms to anyone. God knows this... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: New York Times / Reuters

Sudan,Syria,Russia,China,Papua New Guinea,Fiji,Oceania

Pacific Nations Push for Global Arms Trade Treaty to Curb Gun Trade

19 March 2012

ABC News (Australia), Transcript

Every year illicit trade in small arms results in thousands of deaths. Most of them in developing countries, including the Pacific, where the impact of gun violence has been devastating. Now the international community is to meet at the United Nations to finalise the first ever global arms trade treaty. HELEN HAKENA, WOMEN'S RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER: I was seven months pregnant when gunmen came into our village terrorising the entire village community. My house was burnt to... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: ABC News (Australia)

Pakistan,Iran,Egypt,Russia,United States,Somalia,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa

A 'Bulletproof' Arms Trade Treaty Could Slow the Global Flow of Guns

8 March 2012

MediaGlobal News (New York)

Every day, according to Amnesty International, thousands of people are killed, injured, raped, and forced to flee from their homes as a result of armed conflict, armed violence, and human rights violations and abuses perpetrated using conventional arms. As violence continues unchecked around the world, a coalition of humanitarian and health organizations is rallying support for a "bulletproof" global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), to be discussed in July, that would stymie... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: MediaGlobal News (New York)

Crusading Russian Woman Journalist Killed with Modified Air Pistol

6 March 2012

RIA Novosti (Russia)

MOSCOW - Russian investigators have identified a man who sold the gun used to kill campaigning journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006, Kommersant daily reported on Tuesday. Businessman Vladimir Nabatov modified an air pistol to fire live bullets and then sold the gun to Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, a former senior police officer on trial for organizing the contract killing. It is not clear whether Nabatov is in police custody. The suspected gunman, Rustam Makhmudov, was... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

Estonia,Dominican Republic,Ecuador,Ukraine,Kyrgyzstan,Moldova,Kazakhstan,Belize,Latvia,Venezuela,Belarus,Lithuania,Bahamas,Bolivia,Azerbaijan,Russia,Antigua & Barbuda,Guyana,South Africa,Jamaica,Honduras,Guatemala,El Salvador,South America,Colombia,Brazil,Central America,Caribbean

1/3 of Femicides Committed With Gun in Latin America and Caribbean [Espanol]

2 March 2012

RT-TV Novosti (Russia)

[Translated summary: Nearly a third of crimes against women are committed with a firearm and in Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras this indicator is 60% - Small Arms Survey.] El mayor nivel de feminicidios se registra en Latinoamérica y el Caribe. Catorce países latinoamericanos aparecen entre los 25 del mundo con la tasa más elevada de crímenes contra la mujer. El informe de la organización de investigaciones independientes Small Arms Survey,... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RT-TV Novosti (Russia)

Eastern Europe,Russia,United States,Belgium

Important Arms Cache Revealed by Belgium Police [Francais]

29 February 2012

RTL (Belgium)

[Translated summary: Explosives and weapons of war, including kalashnikovs, were seized by Belgium Police. This arms cache was Brussels' organised crime private supermarket.] Kalachnikovs, grenades et dynamite, c'est l'étonnante découverte qu'a faite, mardi, la police d'Anderlecht dans un hangar, révèle une information de Sudpresse. Selon le parquet de Bruxelles, ces explosifs et armes de guerre pourraient être revendus et destinés à des attaques à main... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RTL (Belgium)

Russia Reveals Plans to Upgrade Kalashnikov Soviet-era Assault Rifle

28 February 2012

Guardian (UK) / Reuters

MOSCOW - Moscow announced plans on Tuesday to modernise the Kalashnikov, giving a new lease of life to the Soviet-era assault rifle. The move is part of a 20 trillion-rouble (£435bn) modernisation of Russia's armed forces that includes the addition of new armaments, submarines and aircraft by 2020. The Kalashnikov has been a mainstay of the Russian army, as well as a weapon of choice for paramilitaries and gangsters around the world. The new-look weapon will get a... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Guardian (UK) / Reuters

Europe,Israel,Russia,United States

Why Does America Lead the World in School Shootings? - Opinion

28 February 2012

CNN, Opinion

Editor's Note: Dr. Frank Ochberg is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Michigan State University and former Associate Director of the National Institute of Mental Health. School shootings are far more frequent in America than in other countries, although terrible massacres have occurred in Russia, Israel, and several European nations. In the high-crime neighborhoods of inner cities, school turf is relatively safe. We have learned to harden the target and patrol with... (GunPolicy.org)

Philippines,Trinidad & Tobago,Zimbabwe,Zambia,Uganda,Tanzania,Senegal,Congo (DRC),Pakistan,Nigeria,Niger,Namibia,Morocco,Mauritania,Malawi,Madagascar,Côte d'Ivoire,Burkina Faso,Botswana,Egypt,Angola,Algeria,South Africa,Ghana,China,United States,Austria,Russia,Israel,Bahrain,Asia,Africa,Brazil

Brazil Arms Exports: Country Preaches Peace, Sells Tons of Arms

28 February 2012

Huffington Post (USA)

A small, scratched metal can thrown on the ground created Brazil's first diplomatic embarrassment of 2012. The canister of tear gas had been collected by pro-democracy activists in Bahrain. Stamped across the can in blue was a Brazilian flag and the words 'MADE IN BRAZIL.' One year had passed since Bahrain became the stage for pro-democracy protests by the majority Shiites against the Sunni monarchy commanded by king Hamad bin-Isa Khalifa. The protesters had been... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Huffington Post (USA)

Algeria,India,Iran,North Korea,China,Syria,Russia

Russia Faces a Growing International Outcry over Its Arms Sales to Syria

21 February 2012

Reuters

MOSCOW/BEIRUT - Russia faces a growing international outcry over its arms sales to Syria but shows no sign of bowing to pressure and has even increased deliveries of arms that critics say are helping keep President Bashar al-Assad in power. The biggest importer of arms to Syria, Russia sold Damascus nearly $1 billion worth of arms including missile systems last year, while shipments of hard-to-track Russian small weapons have risen since the uprising against Assad... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Reuters

Germany,Chad,Yemen,Egypt,Libya,France,United Kingdom,United States,Sudan,Belarus,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,Syria,Russia

Towards an International Control of Arms Trade, NGOs Concerned [Francais]

19 February 2012

Le Monde (France)

[Translated summary: As negotiations were launched this week in New York on the Arms Trade Treaty, Amnesty International, CCFD-Terre Solidaire and Oxfam France are concerned about the risk of a "Treaty at a discount ".] La vente d'armes à un régime qui réprime sa population, comme le fait aujourd'hui la Russie à l'Etat syrien, sera-t-elle bientôt illégale ? C'est l'enjeu des négociations qui devraient aboutir, en juillet, à New York, à la signature d'un... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Le Monde (France)

Italy,Philippines,United States,Russia,Germany,Czech Republic,China,Botswana,Oceania,Americas,Africa,Asia,Europe,Central Africa,Caribbean,South America,Central America,Zimbabwe,Namibia,Mozambique,Congo (DRC),Angola,Swaziland,South Africa,Southern Africa

High Gun Death Risk for Young African Men, Women at Home - UN Study

19 February 2012

Southern Times (Southern Africa)

WINDHOEK - Young men in Southern Africa are at the greatest risk of cold-blooded murder, while women in the region are more likely than others from around the world to be killed in domestic violence, a UN agency says. The statistics from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) come as the region battles to contain the proliferation of gun-related crimes. Experts have said gun-related crime is a major problem in South Africa and Swaziland, and is on the rise in... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Southern Times (Southern Africa)

Egypt,Mexico,Iran,United States,Syria,Russia,China,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa

Collapse of UN Arms Trade Treaty Talks Narrowly Averted - Reuters

17 February 2012

Reuters

UNITED NATIONS - Negotiators on Friday narrowly averted the collapse of talks on a world arms trade treaty to regulate the $55 billion global weapons market, agreeing on ground rules for negotiations after days of procedural wrangling. Delegates and advocates for tougher oversight of global arms sales said the agreement set the stage for a monthlong conference in July to draft the treaty. Arms control campaigners say one person every minute dies as a result of armed... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Reuters

Sudan,China,Egypt,Bahrain,Libya,Germany,United Kingdom,Russia,United States,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa

At Last, the World Acts to Control Global Arms Trade, UN Talks Begin this Week

12 February 2012

Independent (Dublin)

The global arms trade, which produces two bullets for every person on the planet every year and the weapons that kill 1,500 people each day, is facing the first worldwide effort to control it. An unprecedented treaty that would attempt to restrict arms sales is expected to be drawn up at talks in the United Nations this week. A campaign for such an agreement, begun six years ago by Nobel laureates, faces attempts by the United States and Russia to water the treaty... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Independent (Dublin)

Sudan,China,Russia,Syria

Russia, China Provide Guns to Violate Human Rights in Darfur - Amnesty

9 February 2012

Reuters

LONDON - Russian and Chinese arms are being used to violate human rights in Darfur region in breach of an "ineffectual" United Nations embargo, Amnesty International said on Thursday. Amnesty said Russia and China are supplying weapons to Sudan's government despite evidence they are being used against civilians in Darfur, where the U.N. estimates as many as 300,000 people have died since 2003 from violence, hunger or disease. "China and Russia are selling arms to the... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Reuters

Madagascar,Guinea,Ghana,Botswana,Angola,Algeria,South Africa,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,Russia,Austria,Israel,Germany,Italy,United States,Yemen,Philippines,Pakistan,Sri Lanka,Tunisia,Brazil,Burkina Faso,Egypt,Côte d'Ivoire,Malawi,Mauritania,Morocco,Namibia,Niger,Nigeria,Congo (ROC),Senegal,Tanzania,Uganda,Zambia,Zimbabwe,Argentina,Ecuador

Brazilian Gun Industry Seeks New Markets: Africa and Asia [Portugues]

27 January 2012

Publica (Brazil)

[Translated summary: With the support of the Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs, Brazilian gun manufacturers seek new markets in countries with a history of human rights violations: Tunisia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Philippines and Yemen. Brazil is among the six countries in the world with annual exports exceeding $ 100 million, according to recent research from Small Arms Survey. According to the Army, responsible for supervising and controlling exports from 2005 to... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Publica (Brazil)

Russia Touts 20 New Kalashnikov Variants, Holds 17 Million Surplus

25 January 2012

RIA Novosti (Russia)

IZHEVSK - Izhmash, the manufacturer of Kalashnikov AK assault rifles, said its sales were up 57.4 percent last year at 5.73 billion rubles (about $190 million). Civilian weapon sales rose 25 percent and a similar increase is expected this year, Izhmash press secretary Yelena Filatova said. Production is to increase 30 percent this year, to 5.1 billion rubles, she added. In September 2011, Chief of the Russian General Staff Nikolai Makarov said the Defense Ministry... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

Police Seized 227 Guns from Passengers at Russian Airports in 2011

23 January 2012

RIA Novosti (Russia)

MOSCOW - Police seized 227 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition and several kilograms of explosives at airports around Russia in 2011, a spokesperson for the Russian transport police said on Monday. Russia has tightened security measures at airports and railway stations following a terrorist attack at the Domodedovo airport near Moscow in January 2011 which killed 37 and injured 120 people. "During passenger preflight checks at Russian airports last year,... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

Russia's Kalashnikov Factory Dumped Assault Rifle Parts in Public Tip

16 January 2012

RIA Novosti (Russia)

IZHEVSK - Police have found functional gun parts at a dumping ground for destroyed Kalashnikov automatic rifles in the Urals republic of Udmurtia, local Interior Minister Alexander Pervukhin said on Monday. "I regret to report we've discovered many firearms parts and details that can still be used," Pervukhin told the republic's head, Alexander Volkov. He did not elaborate on how the rifle parts ended up as waste. The local Kalashnikov recycling facility already... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

Siberian Truck Driver Takes Crates of Army AK-47s, Sells for Firewood

13 January 2012

RIA Novosti (Russia)

MOSCOW - A retiree in the Udmurtia region of the western Urals has alerted police after finding scores of Ak-47 assault rifles in crates he bought for firewood, police said. The Udmurtian man contacted the police after he found "an object similar to a Kalashnikov assault rifle" in one of the wooden cases, a police source said. Another 78 rifles and munitions were later found in the crates which the man bought for firewood from a Kamaz truck driver who was supposed to... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

Slovakia,Austria,Azerbaijan,Serbia,Russia,Armenia,Turkey,Romania,Czech Republic,Croatia,United States,Bulgaria,Ukraine,Southern Europe,Georgia,Eastern Europe

South Caucasian Republics Purchased 107,324 Small Arms in 2005-2010

4 January 2012

Milaz.info (Azerbaïdjan)

The South Caucasian republics purchased 107 324 small arms from various countries of the world in 2005-2010. APA reports quoting the UN Register of Conventional Arms that Georgia takes the first place among the South Caucasian republics on purchase of small arms during this period. Georgia bought 76 377 small arms from 7 countries. The submachine guns, short rifles, pistols, automatic rifles, pistol-machineguns, heavy machineguns, grenade launchers as well as the... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Milaz.info (Azerbaïdjan)

Thailand,Colombia,Russia,United States,Uganda,Rwanda,South Africa,United Arab Emirates,Belgium,Sudan,Somalia,Côte d'Ivoire,Liberia,Angola,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,Congo (DRC)

Stopping the Trade in Death, Gun Trafficking, Smuggling - Opinion

6 December 2011

New York Times, Opinion

On a dark November morning in 2004, I woke up in my bungalow overlooking Lake Kivu, tense with anticipation. Our small United Nations team was about to undertake a surprise inspection of three airfields in eastern Congo, notorious for smuggling operations. With the backing of U.N. peacekeeping forces and a U.N. Security Council mandate, we searched almost every incoming and outgoing aircraft that day. By evening, we had the evidence to link several aviation front... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: New York Times

Russia,Mozambique,Nigeria,India,Australia,East Africa,Eastern Europe,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa

Global: Unplanned Explosions at Munitions Dumps Increasing - IRIN / SAS

5 December 2011

IRIN (UN News)

JOHANNESBURG - The rate of accidents at munitions storage sites has risen to unprecedented levels in 2011, despite a growing international commitment to assist countries in managing their weapons and ammunition stockpiles. "During the first ten months of 2011, the average number of explosions has increased to more than three per month - the highest rate recorded in a calendar year," said the Small Arms Survey (SAS), a Geneva-based NGO monitoring small arms and armed... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: IRIN (UN News)

Moscow Bans Airgun Ammo in Attempt to Enforce Firearm Registration

13 November 2011

Moscow Times

Ammunition for air guns has disappeared from the city's specialized stores, apparently on verbal orders from a police force that has long frowned upon people buying — and often abusing — non-lethal firearms. Although officially blamed on red tape, the disappearance of the ammunition is actually part of an Interior Ministry campaign to ban air guns across the country, Izvestia reported Friday. Such an unofficial ban would amount to abuse of power, a pro-gun... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Moscow Times

India,Spain,United Kingdom,Italy,Germany,France,Czech Republic,Bulgaria,Belgium,Austria,Yemen,Syria,Libya,Egypt,Bahrain,West Asia,North Africa,Europe,Russia,United States

Major Arms Exporters Accused of Mideast Gun Sales Before Human Rights

24 October 2011

al Jazeera

According to an Amnesty International report, the US, Russia and a number of European countries supplied large quantities of weapons to repressive governments in the Middle East and North Africa before this year's uprisings. The report says that these arms deals were signed despite evidence of a substantial risk that they could be used to commit serious human rights violations. The human rights group reports that in the five years preceding the Arab spring $2.4bn... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: al Jazeera

European Union,China,Germany,South Korea,Switzerland,Serbia,France,United Kingdom,Syria,Yemen,Bulgaria,Belgium,Libya,Italy,Bahrain,Egypt,United States,Russia,West Asia,North Africa,Finland,Austria,Sudan,North Korea,Spain

Tracing the Middle East Weapons Flow

19 October 2011

al Jazeera

Earlier this year, as mass popular uprisings spread through the Middle East and audiences across the world sat transfixed by images of unarmed citizens confronting iron-fisted security forces in the streets of Arab capitals, powerful governments from Russia to the United States were forced to begin accounting for the weapons they had for decades sold to the very rulers they now found themselves abandoning. In Egypt and Bahrain, protesters held up tear gas canisters... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: al Jazeera

Germany,France,Czech Republic,Bulgaria,United Kingdom,Belgium,Austria,Yemen,Syria,Libya,Egypt,Bahrain,North America,West Asia,North Africa,Europe,United States,Russia,Italy,Spain

Arab Spring Abuses Show Need for Arms Trade Curb - Amnesty

18 October 2011

Reuters (Africa)

LONDON - Russia, the United States and European countries ignored fears over human rights abuses and sold large numbers of weapons to governments in the Middle East and North Africa in recent years, Amnesty International said in a report on Wednesday. Rights group Amnesty said the failings showed the need for a meaningful international arms trade treaty to choke off the supply of weapons to countries seen at risk of turning them on their own people. "The Arab Spring... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Reuters (Africa)

India,Russia,Germany,United States

India's Unlicensed Gun Market Thrives on Smuggled, Home Made Firearms

5 October 2011

First Post (Mumbai)

A 10-year-old boy was accidentally shot dead by his 12-year-old neighbour while they were playing cop and thief in West Delhi earlier this week. On 24 September, 23-year-old toll attendant, Umeshkant Pandey, was shot dead by the driver of a white Bolero. His crime: he asked the driver to pay Rs 27 as toll tax. Gun crime has consistently been on the rise in India, and every few weeks, there is a new tragedy. An armed gang shoots a woman over a small piece of jewellery,... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: First Post (Mumbai)

Russia,Peru,Colombia,Greece

Russian Accused of Gun-Running Beats Extradition and Leaves Greece

1 October 2011

RIA Novosti (Russia)

ATHENS - Vladimir Gavrilov, a Russian accused of gun-running to Colombia's FARC rebels in the 1990's has been released from custody in Greece, where he had been detained for a month on an extradition request from Peru, his lawyer Georgy Gurovanidis told RIA Novosti. Gavrilov returned to Moscow on Saturday morning after his release. Vladimir Gavrilov had spent a month in detention in Salonika, Greece, after being detained at the end of August on an international arrest... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

Venezuela,Libya,Russia

Russia Defence Ministry Orders an Update of the Kalashnikov Rifle

28 September 2011

Moscow Times

The Defense Ministry said Tuesday that it has suspended purchases of the legendary Kalashnikov rifle and is expecting the manufacturer, Izhevsk machinery plant, to present it with a new model of the weapon. Mobilization reserves of Kalashnikov assault rifles, which the Soviet armed forces began using in 1949, are too big, and the ministry is not satisfied with the quality of the current firearms arsenal, General Staff chief Nikolai Makarov said. The current reserves... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Moscow Times

Boy Injures 2 Students with Unattended Police Assault Rifle in Russia

17 September 2011

RIA Novosti (Russia)

MAKHACHKALA - A high school student in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan accidentally wounded two other students after he made a shot from an assault rifle in a school, a local police spokesman said on Saturday. He said several policemen were invited to a school in the Tarumovsky district of Dagestan to deliver a lecture for children. "A senior class student was examining an assault rifle that was left unattended for some time by one of the policemen after... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: RIA Novosti (Russia)

United Kingdom,France,Russia,Bahrain

Russia Ignores European Human Rights Embargo, Offers Guns to Bahrain

29 August 2011

Moscow Times / Bloomberg

Russia for the first time is selling weapons to Bahrain after Britain and France banned deliveries of security equipment to the Gulf monarchy because of its crackdown on protesters. State arms trader Rosoboronexport says it wants more business in Bahrain. The country is selling AK-103 Kalashnikovs with grenade launchers and ammunition for tens of millions of dollars to Bahrain, according to a person close to the Russian Defense Ministry who declined to be identified... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Moscow Times / Bloomberg

Russia,United States,European Union,Belgium,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,Burundi

Development, Security Require a World Without Small Arms [Francais]

9 August 2011

Pax Christi Wallonie Bruxelles (Brussels)

[Translated summary: In Burundi, the authorities spend each year an average of 5 dollars per person for health care. Each gun injury costs 163 dollars to the health care system. Three quarters of the global budget for health care is thus spent on these injuries!] Au Burundi, les autorités consacrent en moyenne 5 dollars par habitant aux soins de santé chaque année. Chaque blessure causée par une arme à feu coûte 163 dollars au système des soins de santé. Trois... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Pax Christi Wallonie Bruxelles (Brussels)

Kyrgyzstan,Czech Republic,Pakistan,Afghanistan,Central Asia,Russia,Uzbekistan,China,Kazakhstan,European Union,United States,Colombia,Iran

Smuggling of Small Arms in Central Asia Is Endemic - British Expert

2 August 2011

Journal of Turkish Weekly (Turkey), Transcript

British intelligence analyst and journalist Richard M. Bennett says the Fergana Valley is extremely vulnerable to the covert smuggling of arms and drugs, despite the official reports of Central Asian governments denying its highlighted status. Mr. Bennett told JTW that Russia has been responsible for an overwhelming amount of illegal arms circulating in ex-Soviet Central Asia. In his view, Russia's military intelligence (GRU) is the mastermind of major trafficking... (GunPolicy.org)

Read More: Journal of Turkish Weekly (Turkey)

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