Document - Blood at the Crossroads: Making the case for a global Arms Trade Treaty: Facts and Figures from the Nine Case Studies
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
UPDATED - FACTS & FIGURES
AI Index: ACT 30/017/2008
Embargoed until 0001 GMT Wednesday 17 September
Blood at the Crossroads:
Making the case for a global Arms Trade Treaty
Facts and Figures from the Nine Case Studies
General
Top ten exporters of arms in the world by value for 2006:
|
Country |
Value in US $ millions |
|
USA |
43,737m |
|
UK |
8,657m |
|
Russian Federation |
6,460m |
|
Israel |
4,870m |
|
France |
4,034m |
|
Germany |
1,462m |
|
Italy |
1,218m |
|
Sweden |
1,418m |
|
Netherlands |
1,015m |
|
Spain |
1,061m |
Source: Amnesty International / TransArms. Rank orders in table are based upon an evaluation of the value of total exports for 2005-2007 as officially reported by the authorities of each country listed for deliveries of all military equipment and services.
Over 1,000 people are killed every day by arms.
8 million small arms and light weapons are produced each year.
Between one third and three quarters of all grave human rights violations reported by Amnesty International involve the use of small arms and light weapons.
85 per cent of killings reported by Amnesty International involve the use of small arms and light weapons.
Each year, at least a third of a million people are killed directly with conventional weapons and many more are injured, abused, forcibly displaced and bereaved as a result of armed violence.
118 states have recognised in joint public statements that transfers of conventional arms and small arms should be refused where there is a substantial risk that they will contribute to serious human rights abuses or violations of international humanitarian law.
To date only about 40 states (including the US and UK) have enacted laws and regulations for controlling the business of arms brokering – including or excluding related financial and transport services and extra-territorial provisions.
153 states voted yes in December 2006 to work towards an Arms Trade Treaty with the US rejecting the proposal.
Colombia
At least 1,400 civilians were killed in the conflict in 2007.
According to UN customs data, Comtrade, Colombia imported well over US$40 million worth of equipment under the category “military weapons” in 2006.
The major suppliers were the USA worth US$26,436,462; South Africa worth US$10,228,363; Israel worth US$8,711,630 and France worth US$2,323,161.
Colombia also imported large quantities of other types of small arms. According to UN customs data: under the category of “revolvers and pistols” a total of US$1.5 million and under the category of “non-military arms” a total of US$4.1 million.
The national origin of some of the small arms and light weapons confiscated by the Colombian authorities between 2005 and 2006 from paramilitaries and rebel groups include Brazil, Bulgaria, Germany, Russia, the USA and Venezuela.
Myanmar
China has been the principal source of arms supplies to the Myanmar forces, followed by India, Serbia, Russia, Ukraine and other countries.
Continuous supplies of arms to Myanmar have aggravated an already grave human rights situation.
The repression of civilians and monks was carried out between 25 and 29 September 2007 by the Myanmar security forces using military trucks, batons, tear gas, rubber bullets, less-lethal-munitions, grenade launchers, assault rifles, shotguns, and small arms ammunition.
Since 6 December 2007, a reported 450 Chinese FAW trucks arrived on the Chinese-Myanmar border at Juili and Jehong; subsequent photograph footage shows that FAW trucks were used in the crackdown.
In 2006, Serbia reported exports worth US$8,377,800.00 to ‘military' end-user in Myanmar covering 'howitzer sets, build-in services, self-propelled gun'.
Somalia
Despite the imposition of the 1992 UN arms embargo, widespread human rights abuses and serious violations of International Humanitarian Law have been committed by all parties to the conflict in Somalia who have continued to use a range of small arms and large conventional weapons and munitions.
Some 6,000 civilians were reportedly killed in fighting in the capital Mogadishu and across southern and central Somalia in 2007, and over 600,000 Somali civilians were internally displaced from and around Mogadishu.
Ethiopia and Eritrea have played a key role in arming Somalia militias.
The UN monitoring group reported three deliveries of arms to the Islamic Courts Union in late July 2006 using an Illyushin 76 transport aircraft. One delivery was operated by an Eritrean company.
For information: Ethiopia had imported heavy weapons such as tanks and other armoured vehicles from Russia (worth US$12 million) and China (US$3 million) in 2006 and from North Korea (US$3 million) and the Czech Republic (US$1 million) in 2005. Ethiopia had also imported military weapons from China (US$11.5 million) in 2006 and Israel (US$1.2 million) in 2005. In addition, during 2005 and 2006, Ethiopia had acquired a large range of small arms, light weapons and parts mainly from North Korea, China and Russia.
Sudan and Chad
As a result of indiscriminate direct attacks on civilians and ongoing serious human rights violations in Darfur, particularly by the government forces and paramilitary groups, about 280,000 people were displaced during 2007.
The death toll in Darfur is estimated to be over 200,000 since the conflict began in 2003.
Amnesty International has received recent reports of further arms shipments into Darfur of military aircraft and small arms.
In late December 2007 and early January 2008 Antonov 12 and Ilyushin 76 cargo planes were reportedly witnessed on several occasions flying into the West Darfur capital of El Geneina from Khartoum clearly breaking the UN arms embargo.
In January 2008, Amnesty International received another report that small arms were being distributed to militia in El Geneina. Sudanese jet fighters, reportedly Chinese Fantans, were also seen above El Geneina.
In spite of a UN arms embargo on all parties to the conflict in Darfur agreed in March 2005, suppliers have remained plentiful. The Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China have been the main suppliers of arms to the Sudanese armed forces with Iran and Egypt also prepared to trade.
Iraq
Prior to the 2003 invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein, there were an estimated 15 million small arms and light weapons in Iraq circulating among a population of about 25 million.
The Iraqi people are suffering grave human rights violations and abuses that are being exacerbated by one of the highest rates of possession of small arms per head of population in the world.
Since the invasion, Iraq has agreed contracts with the USA and its partners for the import of at least 1,000,000 infantry weapons and pistols with ammunition.
The continuing proliferation and mismanagement of small arms and lack of respect for international human rights - including the training of state forces – has contributed significantly to the violence.
Amnesty International has identified 47 US Department of Defense contracts dating between 2003 and 2007 for the procurement of small arms, light weapons and associated equipment for the Iraqi security forces representing at least 115 delivery orders to Iraq with a total value of nearly US$217 million.
The UK government supplied a variety of military and security equipment to the Iraqi security services between November 2004 and April 2006 including: 6,500 AK-47 style assault rifles, 11,966 9mm pistols, 2,009 light and medium machine guns, 438 grenade launchers, 5.3 million rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 25,058 sets of body armour and 79 armoured Landrovers.
Despite this massive flow and proliferation of weapons, US and allied officials have admitted that many of these US-sponsored imported weapons remain unaccounted for and that stocks have been diverted to and captured by individuals, militia and armed groups who commit grave human rights abuses.
Lack of adequate training for Iraqi security services, combined with a ready supply of weapons has compounded the grave human rights situation in Iraq.
Côte d’Ivoire
Serious human rights violations such as the extrajudicial execution of dozens of civilians by the security forces after a banned demonstration took place, and the air attacks in the area of Bouake killing civilians and French soldiers, led to the establishment of an arms embargo on Cote d’Ivoire in 2004.
Major arms exporters to Côte d’Ivoire 2003-2004 included Belarus (armoured combat vehicles of Russian origin), Bulgaria (Mig-23 combat aircraft, Mi-24 attack helicopter and 120mm mortar), Romania (Puma attack helicopter) and the Ukraine (armoured combat vehicle).
Amnesty International has obtained a shopping list of weapons which the Togolese based company, Darkwood, proposed to obtain for the Ivorian government. The list included 5,000 AK-47 assault rifles, 200 PKM light machine guns, 200 RPG-7 rocket launchers, 100 82mm mortars, 5 million AK-47 ammunition rounds, 2,000 RPG-7 ammunition rounds, 2 Su-25 combat aircraft, 2 Antonov-12 cargo aircraft, 6 BTR-80 armoured vehicles, 13 BRDM-2 armoured vehicles, 6 BM-21 multiple rocket launchers, and 7,000 air to surface missiles.
Guatemala
Police records indicate that a total of 5,781 people were killed in 2007, 5,885 in 2006, 5,338 in 2005 and 4,346 in 2004. Estimates put Guatemala at approximately an average of 44 killings per 100,000 inhabitants per year. Actual convictions for killings have remained extremely low.
There are an estimated 1.8 million firearms in Guatemala, 90 per cent unregistered.
Violence against women is especially widespread in Guatemala: in 2007, at least 590 women were murdered according to the police and many of the bodies showed signs of sexual violence and other forms of torture.
Research carried out by the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office shows that in all murder cases, 80 per cent of men and 69 per cent of women are killed with firearms.
Top five exporters of “Pistols and Revolvers” to Guatemala between 2004 and 2006 by value are the Czech Republic, South Korea, Argentina, Slovakia, and Germany.
Guinea
In January and February 2007 in Conakry, security forces fired live ammunition into crowds of demonstrators, causing heavy loss of life, including children.
In August 2003, a South African company, Alvis OMC, then a subsidiary of UK company Alvis and now a subsidiary of UK-based BAE Systems, signed a multi-million rand contract to supply the Ministry of Internal Security of the Republic of Guinea with ten “Mamba Mk3” 4x4 armoured “mine-protected” vehicles for immediate delivery from South Africa.
Photographs and film footage taken in Conakry on 20 and 22 January 2007 show the deployment by security forces of Mamba and other vehicles in the city.
Deliveries of arms to Guinea during 2003-06 (apart from the armoured vehicles from South Africa) included shipments from France, Portugal, Senegal, Spain and Turkey.
Uganda
Attempts by the Ugandan army to tackle the proliferation of small arms amongst pastoralist groups have been characterized by excessive use of force.
Some of the munitions picked up by the Turkana pastoralists after an attack in the Loteere area of Uganda in October 2006 by Ugandan People’s Defence Force helicopter gunships included Russian-manufactured 80mm S-8 rockets and 23x115mm canon ammunition. These arms were produced in Novosibirsk, Russia in 1985 and are consistent with those used on the Russian-made Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters flown by the UPDF. Three Mi-24PN attack helicopters were delivered to Uganda by the Russian company Rostvertol in 2004.
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