A woman who called 911 to report a nearby crime was killed by a US police officer last weekend. The circumstances surrounding her death are still unclear. The fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk, a dual Australian-US national who had settled in Minnesota in 2014, has made headlines in both her native Australia and her adopted home in Minneapolis – once again reigniting the all too familiar debate surrounding the role that firearms play in both law enforcement and in... (GunPolicy.org)

"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)

Vanuatu signed the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) on 26th July, 2013 among 130 countries that signed the ATT after it was adopted in April 2013. The Treaty entered into force on 24 December, 2014 and to date, 82 countries worldwide have ratified it. Vanuatu's signing of the ATT is an indication of an intention to proceed to ratification. And any protracted delay in this process could send the wrong signals vis-a-vis Vanuatu's long-term commitment to this Treaty and its goal... (GunPolicy.org)

The Vanuatu Police Force has now advanced by launching a new firearms database system, after using manual system in the last 33 years since Independence. Records of over 4,000 registered firearms throughout Vanuatu were transferred from the manual system to the new database system before the official launching yesterday morning. There are 1,139 guns or firearms registered on Efate alone while the rest of the overall total of over 4,000 guns are owned by individuals... (GunPolicy.org)

PORT VILA, Vanuatu – Vanuatu was represented at the Pacific regional workshop on small arms and light weapons and the arms trade treaty. This 3-day workshop, held in Australia at Brisbane's Novotel Hotel, was organized by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in conjunction with AusAID and Oxfam. It was intended to provide a forum for discussion by Pacific Region representatives on the implementation of the UN Program of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons... (GunPolicy.org)

Stowed away in a Tongan Defence Force's armoury are .303 Lee Enfield rifle and circa (early last century) still in their original packing, unfired. Also, there are World War Two automatic Bren guns, maintained and ready. For what, academic David Capie wonders. Tonga, along with Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, maintain military or paramilitary forces whose existence, he believes, has no positive rationale, but which often represent a threat to the nations they are... (GunPolicy.org)

PORT VILA — Vanuatu's Deputy Prime Minister, Stanley Reginald has again brought disrepute to his government when he threatened to shoot a security guard at the Sanma Sports Club. Reginald was previously warned by Prime Minister Barak Sope following an incident early this year, in which the drunken minister smashed the glass door of the Sunset Bar in Port Vila. A Vanuatu Weekly report said on the evening of July 30, the Deputy Prime Minister was drinking at the Sanma... (GunPolicy.org)