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Work of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on Conducting a Study of the Transnational Nature of and Routes Used in Trafficking in Firearms

NCJ Number
242137
Date Published
August 2012
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This report presents the results of a survey of United Nations member countries by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), soliciting information on confiscated weapons and ammunition, so as to assist in determining the transnational nature of and routes used in trafficking in firearms.
Abstract
The survey is part of an effort to implement the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components, and Ammunition. This Protocol supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The survey was circulated on March 29, 2012. It requested information and proposals on any or all of four subjects. One request was information on weapons and ammunition confiscated since October 22, 2010, including the data, place, and conditions of seizure, mode of transport, weapon and ammunition type, and any other relevant information. A second request was for existing studies, information, data, or assessments conducted by the country on the transnational nature of trafficking in firearms and the routes used in smuggling firearms into and out of the country's territory, as well as descriptions of the methodology used. A third request was for suggested topics, the scope and the extent of the study, and proposed methodology for the possible development of a comprehensive study by UNODC. A third request was for an expression of interest in participating in a comprehensive study and to make available relevant information and data, as well as expertise and/or financial resources for this purpose. A summary of the responses to these topics is presented, followed by recommendations for a comprehensive study of transnational trafficking in firearms, their parts and components, and ammunition.