U.S., Russia and European countries, have provided weapons to repressive governments in the Middle East and North Africa before the revolutions of 2011, although they had evidence of possible serious violation of human rights, a report of Amnesty International (AI), published on Wednesday, reads.
“These findings underline the failure of existing controls on arms exports, with all their shortcomings, and highlights the need for an effective global Arms Trade Treaty, taking into full account the need to respect human rights”, said Helen Hughes, AI coordinator of this report entitled “Arms Transfers to the Middle East and North Africa: Lessons for an effective arms trade treaty”.
“Governments which now express solidarity with the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa are exactly the same that have until recently provided weapons, ammunition and military and police equipment used to kill, injure and arbitrarily detain thousands of peaceful protesters in countries like Tunisia and Egypt and are currently used by security forces in Syria and Yemen, “said Hughes. However, the international community made in 2011 “some steps” to restrict the supply of arms to Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen, recognizes the organization.
The main suppliers of arms to these five countries cited in the report are the United States, Russia, Britain, Italy, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria and Czech Republic. Also, at least 11 countries have provided military assistance or have made exports of arms, munitions and equipment to Yemen, where in 2011 there were about 200 people killed. Among these countries, AI cites Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the United States.
AI experts have identified, ten states whose governments have authorized, since 2005, providing weapons, ammunition and equipment to the regime of Muammar Gadhafi, including Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and Britain. The organization found in Misra Spanish projectiles with submunitions and shells type MAT-120, whose sale was authorized in 2007, having been used by pro-Gadhafi forces. This type of weapon is banned now, by a convention signed by Spain about a year after it provided submunitions to Libya.
At least 20 states have sold and supplied Egypt with small arms, ammunition, tear gas, control agents and other equipment during riots. United States, with shipments of 1.3 billion dollars, have been the largest supplier. Among other providers of this type, Amnesty International cites Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy and Switzerland. “Arms embargo comes usually <<a little too late>> when it comes to crises involving human rights”, concluded Helen Hughes.