The Methodist Church has praised the government's ratification of the UN's Arms Trade Treaty. The President of the Methodist Conference, the Reverend Ruth Gee, hailed it as a "legal milestone that should help to protect those who are abused and oppressed". Countries that ratify the treaty will be required to establish national arms regulators to control the exporting of conventional weapons and weapons components, and to properly regulate arms brokers. Domestic weapon... (GunPolicy.org)

UNITED NATIONS — Eighteen countries, including five of the world's leading arms exporters, ratified a landmark treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar global arms trade on Wednesday, giving a significant boost to the campaign for the treaty's entry into force. The ambassadors of the 18 countries handed over the documents at a U.N. ceremony on the first anniversary of the General Assembly's adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty, which is aimed at stemming the global... (GunPolicy.org)

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — The wars from 1991 to 1999 as Yugoslavia broke up took up to 200,000 lives, turned millions into refugees and left much of the region's people traumatized and heavily armed. It was the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II. The millions of weapons that remained in possession of civilians after the fighting have caused fatalities every week, as traumatized former soldiers either shoot family members or commit suicide or... (GunPolicy.org)

On 3-5 April, the 6th Workshop of the Regional Approach to Stockpile Reduction (RASR) of Conventional Weapons and Munitions Initiative took place in Bled, Slovenia. The focus of the 6th RASR workshop were national legal frameworks regulating import, export and transit of weapons, ammunition and dual-use goods, particularly as they relate to the surplus weapons and munitions. RASR is a regional initiative which aims to coordinate and support countries of South East... (GunPolicy.org)

ROME - Italian police have seized a truck full of AK-47s, explosives and hundreds of rounds of ammunition as it crossed from the Slovenian border into northern Italy. Italy's financial police said today the 32-year-old Slovenian driver was arrested as his truck crossed the border near Trieste, and that an investigation was underway to determine where his "veritable arsenal" was headed. Police said the truck, which appeared to be carrying home electronics equipment,... (GunPolicy.org)