Editing Gun control (section)

== International and regional gun control ==
At the international and regional level, diplomatic attention has tended to focus on the cross-border illegal trade in small arms as an area of particular concern rather than the regulation of civilian-held firearms.{{sfn|Parker|2011|p=3|ps=}} During the mid-1990s, however, the [[United Nations Economic and Social Council]] (ECOSOC) adopted a series of resolutions relating to the civilian ownership of small arms.{{sfn|Parker|2011|p=3|ps=}} These called for an exchange of data on national systems of firearm regulation and for the initiation of an international study of the issue.{{sfn|Parker|2011|p=3|ps=}} In July 1997, ECOSOC issued a resolution that underlined the responsibility of UN member states to competently regulate civilian ownership of small arms and which urged them to ensure that their regulatory frameworks encompassed the following aspects: firearm safety and storage; penalties for the unlawful possession and misuse of firearms; a licensing system to prevent undesirable persons from owning firearms; exemption from criminal liability to promote the surrender by citizens of illegal, unsafe or unwanted guns; and, a record-keeping system to track civilian firearms.{{sfn|Parker|2011|p=3|ps=}}

In 1997, the [[United Nations|UN]] published a study based on member state survey data titled the ''United Nations International Study on Firearm Regulation'' which was updated in 1999.{{efn|The impetus behind this study was twofold: firstly, there were concerns over the incidence of firearm-related crimes, accidents and suicides; secondly, there was the apprehension that existing regulatory instruments administering the ownership, storage and training in the use of firearms held by civilians might be inadequate.{{sfn|Parker|2011|p=3|ps=}}}}{{sfn|Parker|2011|p=3|ps=}} This study was meant to initiate the establishment of a database on civilian firearm regulations which would be run by the Centre for International Crime Prevention, located in [[Vienna]]. who were to report on national systems of civilian firearm regulation every two years.{{sfn|Parker|2011|p=3|ps=}} These plans never reached fruition and further UN-led efforts to establish international norms for the regulation of civilian-held firearms were stymied.{{sfn|Parker|2011|pp=3–4|ps=}} Responding to pressure from the U.S. government,{{efn|The US government was opposed to a section of the draft proposal calling on countries 'to seriously consider the prohibition of unrestricted trade and private ownership of small arms and light weapons'.{{sfn|Alley|2004|p=54|ps=}}}}{{sfn|Alley|2004|pp=53–54|ps=}} any mention of the regulation of civilian ownership of small arms was removed from the draft proposals for the 2001 UN Programme of Action on Small Arms.{{sfn|Parker|2011|p=3|ps=}}

Although the issue is no longer part of the UN policy debate, since 1991 there have been eight regional agreements involving 110 countries concerning aspects of civilian firearm possession.{{sfn|Parker|2011|p=3|ps=}} The Bamako Declaration,{{efn|The full title is 'The Bamako Declaration on an African Common Position on the Illicit Proliferation, Circulation and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (2000)'.{{sfn|Juma|2006|p=39|ps=}}}} was adopted in [[Bamako|Bamako, Mali,]] on 1 December 2000 by the representatives of the member states of the [[Organisation of African Unity]] (OAU).{{sfn|Juma|2006|p=39|ps=}} The provisions of this declaration recommend that the signatories would establish the illegal possession of small arms and light weapons as a criminal offence under national law in their respective countries.{{sfn|Parker|2011|p=4|ps=}} UN conducted another study in 2011 and found after identifying a number of methodological problems in studies, it stated "not withstanding such challenges, a significant body of literature tends to suggest that firearm availability predominantly represents a risk factor rather than a protective factor for homicide. In particular, a number of quantitative studies tend towards demonstrating a firearm prevalence–homicide association."<ref name=":1" />