Firearm News
Caribbean,American Samoa,Niue,Palau,Northern Mariana Islands,Nauru,Cook Islands,Fiji,Micronesia,French Polynesia,Marshall Islands,Kiribati,Papua New Guinea,Samoa,Solomon Islands,Tonga,Tuvalu,Vanuatu,New Caledonia
Addressing Gun Violence in the Caribbean and the Pacific
15 July 2016
The Diplomat (Japan)
"The seas bring us together, they do not separate us."
–Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia
The Caribbean and the Pacific each offer a unique and contrasting perspective toward addressing armed violence. Despite sharing similar challenges as Small Island Developing States (SIDS), each region faces very different circumstances on the ground. In light of this, each region has taken a different approach toward addressing armed violence. The Pacific stands... (GunPolicy.org)
New Caledonia: The Crisis America Isn't Going to Do Anything About
3 November 2014
National Interest, Opinion
Given the long list of items on the Obama administration's foreign-policy agenda, American neglect of the South Pacific is understandable. There are no vital U.S. interests at stake in the region, and that is unlikely to change anytime soon. Unless, of course, the big strategic picture makes the Melanesian arc of islands as strategically vital as it proved to be during the Battle of Guadalcanal. But I'm not expecting the U.S. cavalry to come to the rescue in the near... (GunPolicy.org)
Armed Violence, Youth and New Caledonia's Future
22 October 2014
Le Centre pour le Destin Commun (New Caledonia), Blog
Good morning, my name is Daryl Morini. I am delighted to be here today representing the Centre for a Common Destiny, the first think and do tank in New Caledonia, which I founded last year with a team of young New Caledonians. We provide high-quality, non-partisan policy research and advocacy, specialising in conflict prevention reconciliation and arms control in a local context.
Today, I will talk about the background of political tensions, small arms issues and the... (GunPolicy.org)
New Caledonia Authorities Opposed to Tighter Gun Laws
3 April 2014
Radio New Zealand International (Shortwave)
The New Caledonian government says it's opposed to tighter gun laws as France suggested a limit of four hunting rifles per person.
Paris vowed last year to restrict gun ownership by March but the government of Harold Martin says such a step will only cause more political problems.
After the law change was signalled last year, the French high commissioner Jean-Jacques Brot said sales had doubled while the local press said weapon sales had grown tenfold.
There are... (GunPolicy.org)
New Caledonia Stocks Up on Private Guns Ahead of Independence Vote
25 February 2014
Global Post (Boston) / Agence France Presse
In the green hills of Grand Terre, New Caledonia's main island, duck farmer Christophe Puesh is dodging the large puddles which have formed after the latest tropical downpour.
A descendant of French settlers who came to these Pacific islands after their colonisation in the 19th century, Puesh is hunting deer and wild pigs.
Here, hunting is entwined in the lifestyles of both indigenous Kanaks and more recent arrivals - but a debate on gun control in the islands is... (GunPolicy.org)
New Caledonia Gun Laws to be Tightened by March
23 January 2014
Radio New Zealand International (Shortwave)
New restrictive laws around arms control in New Caledonia are due to be in place at the beginning of March.
The new date has been given by the French interior minister attending the National Assembly.
Last month, the French high commissioner in New Caledonia expressed concern at the spike in firearms sales after Paris said it would tighten gun laws before the end of the year.
Jean-Jacques Brot said sales had doubled while the local press said weapon sales had grown... (GunPolicy.org)
New Caledonia Gun Sales Spike After Tougher Gun Laws Announced
26 December 2013
Fiji Times / Radio New Zealand
The French high commissioner in New Caledonia has expressed concern at the spike in firearms sales after last month's announcement that Paris would tighten gun laws before the end of the year.
Jean-Jacques Brot says sales have doubled while the local press says weapon sales have grown tenfold.
His comment comes only weeks after he warned that weapons should no longer be sold as if the territory was a haven of eternal peace.
There are suggestions that now more than... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Proliferation Worries New Caledonia, Plans to Tighten Gun Laws
14 November 2013
Radio New Zealand International (Shortwave)
There is growing concern in New Caledonia over the proliferation of firearms amid suggestions that more than 100,000 rifles are now in circulation.
The French high commissioner, Jean-Jacques Brot, says weapons should no longer be sold as if the territory was a haven of eternal peace.
France says it will tighten the gun law by next month as there are now officially more than 54,000 rifles registered, a figure which insiders say hides the real numbers.
An online... (GunPolicy.org)
Firearm Related Deaths and Injuries in New Caledonia 2001-13 [FR]
13 November 2013
Centre pour le Destin Commun, Web page
[Translated summary: In the framework of the petition on firearm sales in New Caledonia, the Centre for a Common Destiny initiated research on the number of deaths and injuries by firearms between 2001 and 2013. Despite requests to national and local authorities, it was impossible to obtain exhaustive statistics. Our totals rely on a count of incidents reported in Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes (LNC), a national newspaper, and are certain to be incomplete.]]
Afin de... (GunPolicy.org)
New Caledonia to Have New Gun Law by End of Year [FR]
6 November 2013
Tahiti Infos
[Translated summary: New Caledonia is to get a tougher law on guns by the end of the year, after eight homicides in the last 12 months.]
PARIS - Le ministre des Outre-mer Victorin Lurel a indiqué mercredi qu'un décret plus restrictif sur le régime spécifique de détention et d'acquisition des armes à feu en Nouvelle-Calédonie, sera publié "avant la fin de l'année".
Le régime des armes à feu, spécifique à la Nouvelle-Calédonie et différent de la... (GunPolicy.org)
Public Petition Over Gun Availability, Risk in New Caledonia [FR]
1 November 2013
Agence France Presse
[Translated summary: A petition begun in New Caledonia has been gathering signatures concerning how many guns are in circulation nationally and the availability of firearms. Official figures show 4,521 weapons were sold in 2011, up significantly from 1,381 sold the year before. It is thought that there are 55,000 guns in New Caledonia, but officials estimate that the true figure is two - three times that number. Last week one person was injured in a shooting and in... (GunPolicy.org)
New Caledonia: 4 Injured in a Shooting after a Night of Drinking [FR]
15 October 2013
Agence France Presse
[Translated summary: Four persons, including a minor, were injured in a shooting after a night of drinking in Nouméa, New Caledonia, where firearm sales and alcohol consumption have significantly increased in recent years. According to the Prefecture, there are at least 49,000 firearms held by civilians in New Caledonia.]
NOUMEA — Quatre personnes, dont un mineur, ont été blessées mardi matin dans une fusillade après une nuit de beuverie dans un quartier... (GunPolicy.org)
Drunken Shooting Highlights Increased Gun Use in New Caledonia
15 October 2013
Radio New Zealand International (Shortwave)
The public prosecutor in New Caledonia says yesterday's shooting of four people in the north of Noumea followed a night of drinking by a group of young people.
The 25-year-old gunman, who was known to police, reportedly went to his home to fetch a rifle after he had an argument and then shot two people, including a teenager.
He then fired at another group of people, hitting another two before police arrived and arrested him.
One of the wounded four suffered severe... (GunPolicy.org)
48,000 Registered Firearms in New Caledonia [FR]
26 August 2013
Centre pour le Destin Commun, Blog
[Translated summary: Since the enactment of the 2011 Act facilitating the sale of weapons in New Caledonia, the availability, import, and sale of hunting rifles have been steadily increasing. In 2011, 4,521 new hunting rifles were bought - three times more than previous years - for a total of 48,000 officially declared firearms. Unofficially, a more accurate figure would be closer to 150,000 firearms in circulation. Consequently, if New Caledonia was a sovereign state,... (GunPolicy.org)
Melanesia,Papua New Guinea,Australia,Solomon Islands,New Caledonia,Oceania
Concern in Papua New Guinea Over Gun-Related Crime, Trafficking
3 September 2012
Inter Press Service News Agency
BRISBANE - In Papua New Guinea, the largest island nation in Melanesia in the southwest Pacific, where more than 60 percent of major crimes involve guns, a burgeoning illegal arms trade is associated with lack of employment growth and low human security, with vulnerable communities suffering the consequences.
This is the case in the autonomous region of Bougainville in the east of the country, where disarmament remains elusive more than ten years after a civil war... (GunPolicy.org)
Weapon Sales Boom in New Caledonia After Law Relaxed
3 August 2012
Radio New Zealand International (Shortwave)
New figures show that in New Caledonia the number of sales of high-powered arms has tripled in the last two years.
The French High Commission in Noumea says this follows the liberalisation of the gun law two years ago to make it easier for hunters to obtain rifles.
It says last year an additional 4,500 guns have come into circulation.
This means that there are nearly 50,000 weapons in the territory or about one firearm for every three adults.
Under the new law, it... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Law Relaxed, Gun Sales, Imports Double in New Caledonia [FR]
2 December 2011
Les Nouvelles Calédonies (Nouméa)
[Translated Summary: After New Caledonia's gun sale regulations were relaxed, high demand and availability resulted in a significant rise in gun sales: 2,500 sales in 2011 versus 1,800 sales in 2010.]
Le phénomène était attendu : depuis le mois de mars et la simplification de la réglementation sur la vente des armes, le nombre de fusils disponibles sur le marché a explosé. Cette année, le niveau des importations d'armes à feu a même doublé.
Acheter une... (GunPolicy.org)
Firearms Destroyed in New Caledonia
26 January 2004
ABC News (Australia)
A report from New Caledonia says up to 300 confiscated firearms have been destroyed by the French army.
The daily newspaper Les Nouvelles Calédoniennes reports the weapons consisted mainly of hunting guns, pistols and ammunition.
Some of the weapons belonged to villagers in Saint Louis, which was once the scene of violent clashes between indigenous Kanaks and settlers from Wallis and Futuna Islands.
In August last year, French police in New Caledonia seized more... (GunPolicy.org)
High Gun Ownership Figures in New Caledonia
4 November 2003
Radio New Zealand International (Shortwave)
One in five people in New Caledonia own a gun, according to the latest statistics.
The French High Commission says 48-thousand firearms have been officially registered.
In a report, the newspaper Les Nouvelles Caledoniennes says there are likely to be many more rifles and pistols being kept illegally in private armouries or homes.
However, it says many of the weapons in the census would be useless or... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Homicide and Firearm-related Injury in New Caledonia
5 August 2003
Pacific Islands Report / Oceania Flash
SUVA, Fiji — Wallisian rugby player Laurent Vili, who has been detained in New Caledonia for the past twelve months, was transferred from Nouméa to a prison in France for medical reasons, Télé-Nouvelle-Calédonie reports.
28-year-old Vili, who was detained in Nouméa's Camp Est prison, is reported to have recently complained of shoulder pains. He was flown out of New Caledonia on Monday.
He is to be examined by penitentiary medical doctors near Paris and a... (GunPolicy.org)