WFSA Current News - June 2002

June 24, 2002

Reported Rise in Small Arms
             The Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva has released a report showing an increase of 16 per cent in small arms worldwide since last year. At the same time, it indicated that the apparent increase is probably more likely to be the result of better information gathering than any physical boost in numbers.
             Small arms according to the Survey incorporate not only civilian hunting arms and side arms, but also anti-personnel military weapons up to machine guns and rocket launchers.
             The Survey suggests the total figure is 639 million small arms, with 378 million of these being owned by civilians. Of course, no figures at all exist for illegal guns, which is the usual case, so the numbers are in effect more notional than actual.
             The Survey noted a developing trend. Despite the United Nations agreement in 2001 to strengthen national legislation relating to firearms, and to encourage the destruction of arms where possible, sophisticated military weapons are increasingly finding their way into use by criminal gangs. In Asia, Palestine and Colombia, the numbers of uncounted arms appear to be rising.