E.U. Firms Getting Around Arms Embargo
notes Israel Rafalovich
Brussels - NGOs have warned that European firms and others are supplying components for Chinese helicopters through a network of global subsidiaries, despite the European Union's 17-year old China arms embargo, according to a new report called "Arms Without Borders", by the Control Arms Campaign of the International Action Network on Small Arms, Amnesty International and Oxfam.
The report is launched, as the United Nations opens its annual session on arms control, in the run up to a landmark vote on Arms Trade Treaty.
The 50-page report, reveals that U.S., European and Canadian companies are among those able to circumvent arms regulations by selling weapon components and subcontracting arms manufacturing overseas.
Dutch, British and Irish components turn up in Israeli Apache attack helicopters despite the European Union's "Code of Conduct" on not selling arms to countries that violate U.N. resolutions.
The Code of Conduct is a political commitment which was agreed upon by the E.U. powers in 1998 and is not a legally binding document, unlike the China arms embargo, which was put in place after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
The report reveals loopholes and destroyed lives. Arms companies are global as arm regulations are not and as a result, abusive regimes are being armed. The European Union and the United States are fast becoming the IKEA of the international arms industry, supplying parts to countries who are human rights abusers to assemble them at home.
The report shows that the technology revolutionising the arms industry is often the same as that are used in homes and are frequently unregulated.
"Dual-Use" technology is also an area that needs to be tackled via new international agreements, with items such as DVD-readers also used in guidance systems for Hellfire missiles.
"European Union arms makers don't have to sacrifice profits for the sake of principle, instead they can simply subcontract", says Rebecca Peters, Director of the International Action Network on Small Arms. One example is the Austrian Glock company, that is trying to establish a production plant in Brazil. Should everything go according to plan, Glock will be able to circumvent the E.U. Code of Conduct on Arms Exports by shipping guns from its Brazilian plant, with Romanian, Bulgarian and Hungarian guns already traded in Baghdad.
Ireland exported 4.5 Billion Euros of dual-use technology in 2002, compared to just 34 Million Euros of official weapons equipment, the report reveals.
By the end of 2006, military spending is estimated to reach 1,058,9 Billion Dollars. This is higher than the cold War record reached in 1987/8.
In 2005, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and Germany together accounted for about 82 percent of all arms transfers.
Brazil, India, Israel, Singapore, South Africa and South Korea have arms companies in the world top 100.
Israel Rafalovich
Please also see:
Global arms industry exploiting major loopholes in arms regulations
New report by Control Arms Campaign: Oxfam International, Amnesty International and International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA)
http://www.iansa.org/campaigns_events/documents/WithoutBorders_release.doc
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGPOL300422006
http://www.oxfam.org/en/news/pressreleases2006/pr061002_arms
Global arms industry exploiting major loopholes
http://www.iansa.org/campaigns_events/no_borders.htm
2006 UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME OF DISARMAMENT FELLOWSHIPS STARTS THIRD SEGMENT TODAY IN NEW YORK http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/dc3045.doc.htm
NOTE: FOLLOWING ARE SUMMARIES OF STATEMENTS MADE TODAY TO THE FIRST COMMITTEE (DISARMAMENT AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY). A COMPLETE SUMMARY OF TODAY’S FIRST COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY AS PRESS RELEASE GA/DIS/3321.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/gadis3321.doc.htm
Peace Directory http://www.peacenik.co.uk/directory.html
Commission bureaucrats are getting too powerful, says Verheugen
http://euobserver.com/9/22572/?rk=1
notes Israel Rafalovich
Brussels - NGOs have warned that European firms and others are supplying components for Chinese helicopters through a network of global subsidiaries, despite the European Union's 17-year old China arms embargo, according to a new report called "Arms Without Borders", by the Control Arms Campaign of the International Action Network on Small Arms, Amnesty International and Oxfam.
The report is launched, as the United Nations opens its annual session on arms control, in the run up to a landmark vote on Arms Trade Treaty.
The 50-page report, reveals that U.S., European and Canadian companies are among those able to circumvent arms regulations by selling weapon components and subcontracting arms manufacturing overseas.
Dutch, British and Irish components turn up in Israeli Apache attack helicopters despite the European Union's "Code of Conduct" on not selling arms to countries that violate U.N. resolutions.
The Code of Conduct is a political commitment which was agreed upon by the E.U. powers in 1998 and is not a legally binding document, unlike the China arms embargo, which was put in place after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
The report reveals loopholes and destroyed lives. Arms companies are global as arm regulations are not and as a result, abusive regimes are being armed. The European Union and the United States are fast becoming the IKEA of the international arms industry, supplying parts to countries who are human rights abusers to assemble them at home.
The report shows that the technology revolutionising the arms industry is often the same as that are used in homes and are frequently unregulated.
"Dual-Use" technology is also an area that needs to be tackled via new international agreements, with items such as DVD-readers also used in guidance systems for Hellfire missiles.
"European Union arms makers don't have to sacrifice profits for the sake of principle, instead they can simply subcontract", says Rebecca Peters, Director of the International Action Network on Small Arms. One example is the Austrian Glock company, that is trying to establish a production plant in Brazil. Should everything go according to plan, Glock will be able to circumvent the E.U. Code of Conduct on Arms Exports by shipping guns from its Brazilian plant, with Romanian, Bulgarian and Hungarian guns already traded in Baghdad.
Ireland exported 4.5 Billion Euros of dual-use technology in 2002, compared to just 34 Million Euros of official weapons equipment, the report reveals.
By the end of 2006, military spending is estimated to reach 1,058,9 Billion Dollars. This is higher than the cold War record reached in 1987/8.
In 2005, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and Germany together accounted for about 82 percent of all arms transfers.
Brazil, India, Israel, Singapore, South Africa and South Korea have arms companies in the world top 100.
Israel Rafalovich
Please also see:
Global arms industry exploiting major loopholes in arms regulations
New report by Control Arms Campaign: Oxfam International, Amnesty International and International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA)
http://www.iansa.org/campaigns_events/documents/WithoutBorders_release.doc
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGPOL300422006
http://www.oxfam.org/en/news/pressreleases2006/pr061002_arms
Global arms industry exploiting major loopholes
http://www.iansa.org/campaigns_events/no_borders.htm
2006 UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME OF DISARMAMENT FELLOWSHIPS STARTS THIRD SEGMENT TODAY IN NEW YORK http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/dc3045.doc.htm
NOTE: FOLLOWING ARE SUMMARIES OF STATEMENTS MADE TODAY TO THE FIRST COMMITTEE (DISARMAMENT AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY). A COMPLETE SUMMARY OF TODAY’S FIRST COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY AS PRESS RELEASE GA/DIS/3321.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/gadis3321.doc.htm
Peace Directory http://www.peacenik.co.uk/directory.html
Commission bureaucrats are getting too powerful, says Verheugen
http://euobserver.com/9/22572/?rk=1