BRUSSELS — Two Flemish politicians are pushing to tighten Belgium's gun laws to stall the growing numbers of people killed by firearms. Geert Lambert, leader of the left leaning liberal party Spirt, and his fellow party member Stijn Bex say they want to reduce the number of people killed by guns every year in Belgium. At present the average death toll from shooting incidents in Belgium is 367 and it is thought that there are around two million weapons in circulation... (GunPolicy.org)

In spring 1998, the Government of Jordan ordered 100 P90 submachine guns (including 20 equipped with laser scopes) from FN Herstal in Belgium. Officially, they are meant to equip Jordanian Special Forces charged with assuring the close protection of the royal family. The 20 laser-equipped guns were delivered on 17 June 1998 and the 80 classical guns on 2 August; transport was assured by a Royal Jordanian airliner. It subsequently emerged that Jordan did not order the... (GunPolicy.org)

BRUSSELS — Belgian police officers are turning a blind eye to firearms crime by failing to draw up a proper register of gun sales, it was reported on Thursday. As a result of shoddy records, the authorities have little idea of how many guns are in circulation in the country, said De Tijd newspaper. The national union of gun manufacturers, hunters and sports clubs have denounced the failure to create an effective central register of guns. The Federal Ministers of... (GunPolicy.org)

BRUSSELS — A Belgian professor has developed a new handgun that he claims can be fired only by its legitimate owner, Belgian newspaper La Derniere Huere said on Wednesday. Professor Jacques Destine, who is based at Liege university, began work on the new firearm the US Justice Department launched a world-wide call for tender asking scientists to develop a 'safe' handgun. Every year 6,000 Americans, including two children a day, are injured by firearms. To his... (GunPolicy.org)

[Translated summary: Belgian firearms confiscated by police in Rio show the responsibility of European gun makers]. Dans les favelas de Rio de Janeiro, la guerre que se livrent les gangs des caïds de la drogue représente la principale cause de mortalité des jeunes adolescents. Dans ces quartiers populaires, les affrontements font plus de victimes que des situations de guerre ouverte dans d'autres pays. Depuis avril 1999, en partenariat avec le secrétariat de la... (GunPolicy.org)

The Belgian Government has been defending the controversial sale of more than 5,000 machine guns to Nepal. Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel said the Nepalese authorities needed the weapons because of the threat posed by Maoist rebels who are trying to impose a communist dictatorship. He said the production and sale of arms was not immoral, and the real question was to know who they are going to. Politicians from other Belgian parties have demanded an urgent... (GunPolicy.org)

A bill recently approved by the Council of Ministers would require all firearms in Belgium to be registered — even if they're just passing through — and prohibit their sale except where specifically authorised. The move is aimed at stemming a growing illicit arms trade involving weapons which are imported into Belgium and then re-exported for sale in other parts of the world. "For the past few decades Belgium has been a centre of illicit arms trade," said Alain... (GunPolicy.org)

BRUSSELS — A Belgian company has made a prototype of a "smart gun" that can only be used by its owner, developed under contract with the U.S. government to make it harder for criminals to use stolen weapons. "The idea is to make a gun fire when the owner wants it to and not to when the owner doesn't want to," said Robert Sauvage, a spokesman for FN Herstal, which has received about $20 million from the U.S. Department of Justice. Gun control is a hot issue in the... (GunPolicy.org)

BRUSSELS — A Belgian company has made a prototype of a smart gun that can only be used by its owner, developed under contract with the U.S. government to make it harder for criminals to use stolen weapons. The idea is to make a gun fire when the owner wants it to and not to when the owner doesn't want to, said Robert Sauvage, a spokesman for FN Herstal, which has received about $20 million from the U.S. Department of Justice. Gun control is a hot issue in the United... (GunPolicy.org)

Belgian authorities have issued an arrest warrant for the world's most dangerous arms trafficker — a former Soviet KGB agent dubbed the Merchant of Death. The warrant marks the first formal attempt by any government to crush the empire of Victor Anatolevic Bout, a suspected gun runner to Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorists, the Taliban and numerous rogue states. Days after the Sept. 11 attacks, Britain's MI6 intelligence service reported that Bout played a role in... (GunPolicy.org)

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Belgian authorities are investigating a Russian arms dealer suspected of running guns to al-Qaida and the Taliban and have arrested the dealer's associate, officials said. Belgian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they expected an international arrest warrant would be issued soon for Victor Bout, who has also been named in U.N. reports as a prominent supplier of weapons to rebel groups in Africa. Peter Hain, Britain's minister... (GunPolicy.org)

On 21 July, the UN conference on light arms ended in New York as a partial failure. While these arms cause 500,000 deaths per year, 90 percent of them civilian, during this conference the United States refused to restrict the legal trade of arms to States only. On Friday [5 October] a conference organized by the Network for International Action on Light Weapons was held in Brussels on this theme. On this occasion, the Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, who was... (GunPolicy.org)

BRUSSELS — Belgian gunsmiths FN Herstal on Thursday denied Belgian media reports saying its new P90 super- strength handgun had already ended up in the hands of criminals. The small arms company said the semi-automatic pistol, which is currently in a testing phase, was purely aimed at the military markets, law enforcement agencies and anti-terrorist units and would not be sold to private persons. FN, owned by the Walloon regional government, specifically denied a... (GunPolicy.org)

BRUSSELS — The European Commission said on Wednesday it had allowed the Belgian authorities to rescue weapons maker FN-Herstal, formerly controlled by France's Giat Industries, from bankruptcy. Belgium's Walloon regional government agreed last year to take over Giat's majority stake in the loss-making small arms company for a symbolic French franc and to spend 2.5 billion Belgian francs ($68.2 million) to bring the company back to life. The Commission said in a... (GunPolicy.org)

BRUSSELS — Belgian police have broken what they say is an arms smuggling operation, seizing quantities of assault rifles, handguns, ammunition and explosives and arresting one man in a raid on a house near Liege. "He has confessed and has been charged under the laws on possession of firearms, relating to holding, buying and selling military arms," said Christine Wilwerth, deputy public prosecutor in Liege. Liege police commissioner Francis Perilleux said the guns... (GunPolicy.org)