Europe, Headlines, Human Rights

EU EXPANDS: ‘And So Does Arms Trade’

Sanjay Suri

LONDON, May 14 2004 (IPS) - An expanded EU has meant "dangerously ineffective" arms export controls, Amnesty International said in a report published Friday.

"Stringent new regulations are urgently needed to protect human rights and safeguard people’s security," the human rights organisation said.

The report was released to coincide with a meeting of the EU arms control committee (COARM). It comes amid rising demands for the EU to give some teeth to its code of conduct on arms exports. That code makes recommendations that are not binding.

"Arms, security equipment and services from the EU are contributing to grave human rights abuses and the scale of potential abuse is now enormous," says the Amnesty report ‘Undermining Global Security: the European Union’s arms exports’.

The major EU arms exporting countries – Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden û account for a third of the world’s arms deals, the report says. "With ten new member states, the EU now has over 400 small arms companies in 23 countries, almost as many as the USA."

Amnesty has reason to worry; EU countries have been pushing small arms in a big way.

An international Sporting Arms and Outdoor show in Brescia in the north of Italy April 17-20 drew large crowds. Italy is the third largest producer of small arms and light weapons after the United States and Britain, according to Amnesty International.

The Italian show draws the biggest number of visitors; it even lets in children, while similar events in Las Vegas and Nuremberg do not.

About 90 percent of Italian weapons are manufactured in Brescia. As many as 137 factories produce mainly small arms. These include the well known Beretta guns.

Small arms have been used extensively in the conflicts in Africa. They are responsible for 90 percent of war casualties around the world, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The Amnesty report highlights serious flaws in the 1998 EU code of conduct on arms exports. The report calls for a toughening and widening of the code "to prevent the irresponsible export of surplus arms, arms components and security equipment used for repression as well as licensed arms production in third countries, arms brokering and transporting of arms."

An enlarged EU now has an opportunity to become a more effective voice for change, the Amnesty report says. "But in order to do this, the EU must put its own house in order."

The report lists several instances of loopholes in the existing EU arms export controls. These include:

– The involvement of an Italian joint venture company in the manufacture of vehicles used as mobile execution chambers in China.

– British export of components for Chinese military aero engines despite an EU arms embargo on China.

– A failure to control the huge "transit trade" of arms through the Netherlands allowing the export of armoured vehicles to Israel despite their use against civilians.

– The transfer of Czech and Polish surplus weapons to governments such as Yemen with a history of diverting weapons to third countries.

– Spanish satellite intelligence, military equipment and training have been promised to Colombia despite concerns that the Colombian government’s policies are exacerbating the human rights disaster there.

– French helicopters and parts manufactured under licence in India, delivered to Nepal where armed forces have used helicopters to shoot and kill civilians.

The EU code of conduct was adopted in June 1998 under British presidency. It asks members to take several criteria into account while granting arms export licences.

These include respect for international commitments and respect of human rights in the country of final destination.

The code also calls for the preservation of regional peace, security and stability, consideration of the buyer country’s behaviour with regard to the international community, in particular its attitude to terrorism, and an assessment whether defence equipment could be diverted under undesirable conditions.

The code was the brainchild of former British foreign secretary Robin Cook, who resigned later in protest against the British decision to join the invasion of Iraq.

More effective than these recommendations has been a directive to member states to circulate information on arms sales they have denied on the basis of the code. The Netherlands now plan to make this code tougher and more binding during the course of their presidency of the EU over the second half of this year.

The Netherlands government is also due to take up the issue of brokering in small arms and light weapons.

"Illicit brokering is recognised as among the main factors facilitating the illegal trade in small arms and light weapons around the world," EU officials declared after a meeting in March this year. The declaration was supported by the ten new accession states.

The EU has been careful to avoid any independent role in managing arms transfers into or out of member states. Arms production and trade are exempt from any common European regulations.