1 Dec 2014

Group calls on Pacific Govts to bring gun laws in line

5:26 pm on 1 December 2014

The Pacific Small Arms Action Group is calling on governments to comply with international and regional obligations related to arms, security and gender.

It says countries like Samoa, Kiribati, Tuvalu and Vanuatu have taken significant steps by signing the Arms Trade Treaty, which will help take weapons out of the hands of those who commit violence.

The group's Alistair Gee says other governments, including Fiji, need to bring national gun laws in line with regional and international commitments.

He also says the Pacific can teach the world a lot about arms control.

"When there have been levels of high armed violence, the response of Pacific countries has been to go in to remove those weapons. That is not a common story in other parts of the world where the response is often to go and arm other groups to even up the balance, to add more weapons. We need to help Pacific countries be at the forefront and show that there's a much smarter way."

The Pacific Small Arms Action Group's Alistair Gee.