Press release

No.: 75/02
Date: 15 April 2002

Norway signs UN protocol on firearms

The Government decided today that Norway will sign the UN Protocol of 31 May 2001 against the Illicit Manufacturing and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (CATOC) of 15 November 2000.

This is the third protocol to the CATOC. The other two are the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.

The new protocol on firearms sets out further rules for combating illicit manufacturing and trafficking in firearms. It requires states to establish an administrative system of import, export and transit controls that will make it easier to detect illicit trade in firearms across national borders. States are also required to keep records, and to ensure the unique marking of firearms.

The implementation of the protocol will require amendments to the Norwegian Firearms Regulations in order to fulfil the requirement to keep a record of and ensure the unique marking of every single firearm from the time of import or manufacture. The marking requirement could entail higher expenses for importers of firearms.

The protocol will enter into force when it has been ratified by 40 states, but not before the Convention itself has entered into force.