UN agency reports between 330,000 and 460,000 civilian firearms in Kosovo

There are between 330,000 and 460,000 firearms in civilian hands in Kosovo, most of the weapons unregistered and uncontrolled, according to a United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) report launched today in Pristina.

Entitled "Kosovo and the Gun, A Baseline Assessment of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Kosovo," the report is an independent research, commissioned by UNDP and written by the Small Arms Survey.

"Illicit weapons have impeded development in Kosovo for too long," UNDP Resident Representative in the province, Robert Piper, said. "Kosovo and the Gun gives us, for the first time, solid information about the prevalence and types of weapons in the territory, who owns them, their routes of entry into the region, and public attitudes about their presence."

The report was launched in tandem with the UN Biennial Meeting of States on Small Arms in All their Aspects being held in New York from 7 to 11 July.