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Spotlight: US gun-control must be improved to prevent further onslaughts: UN human rights chief

Xinhua, June 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

In the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, the UN human rights chief on Tuesday urged the country's leadership to implement effective gun-control measures to avoid massacres which have killed and wounded thousands of people over the years.

"How many more individual shootings will it take before the United States adopts robust gun regulation?" Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein asked in a statement.

Despite pro-gun propaganda saying that firearms increase security, the high commissioner indicated that the widespread circulation of weapons has a detrimental effect on a society's safety.

It also increases the likelihood of heinous crimes as the ability to carry out mass killings is facilitated by weapons normally reserved for military warfare.

"The ready availability of guns leaves little space between murderous impulses and actions that result in death," Zeid said.

"Society, in particular its most vulnerable communities and minorities who are already facing widespread prejudice, pay a high price for the failure to stand up to the lobbyists and take the necessary measures to protect citizens from gun violence," he added.

These comments followed the latest shooting spree which took place in a gay nightclub in Orlando in the early hours of Sunday morning.

A total of 49 people lost their lives after 29-year-old Afghan-American Omar Mateen walked into the nightclub wielding an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and a hand gun, and opened fire on the crowds.

The high commissioner highlighted that regulations set up in other countries to restrict the acquisition of firearms have led to a dramatic decrease of violent crimes.

"In the United States, however, there are hundreds of millions of guns in circulation, and every year thousands of people are killed or injured by them," the high commissioner noted.

According to a recent report, a total of 51,675 gun violence incidents took place in the United States in 2015 as of Dec. 28, leaving 13,136 dead and 26,493 injured. Endit