FOR
PERSONAL, NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY
Human Rights Watch Press Release
November
15, 2002
For Immediate Release:
NATO:
Address Weak Arms Trade Controls
in Central and Eastern Europe
(New York, November
15, 2002) -- The upcoming NATO summit in Prague, Czech Republic,
provides an opportunity for NATO to address the urgent need
to improve arms trade controls in Central and Eastern Europe,
Human Rights Watch said today. In an open letter to NATO leaders
and a
detailed briefing paper, Human Rights Watch pointed out that a number of recent
scandals, including illegal arms sales to Iraq and Liberia, make clear that
governments in the region do not exercise reliable control on the weapons trade.
The open letter,
including a link to the 13-page briefing paper, is below.
They can also be found at http://www.hrw.org/press/2002/11/nato1115-ltr.htm
For further information on arms flows from Central and Eastern Europe
please see http://www.hrw.org/arms/cee.php
Text of the letter:
Your Excellencies,
Recent scandals
involving the supply of weapons from Central and Eastern Europe
to Iraq and Liberia, in violation of mandatory United Nations
embargoes, make clear that a number of governments in the region
do not exercise reliable control on the weapons trade. The
problem is widespread and encompasses countries that joined
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1999, are
top candidates for NATO membership this year, or are seeking
improved relations with NATO. We feel that the upcoming NATO
summit in Prague, Czech Republic, provides an opportunity for
NATO to address the urgent need to improve arms trade controls
in Central and Eastern Europe.
Weak arms trade
controls in Central and Eastern Europe are responsible for
a number of serious problems. Key concerns include:
- Illicit arms
trafficking: too often, arms traffickers are able to bypass
lax laws to supply weapons to illegal destinations.
- The glut of
surplus weapons: governments continue to sell surplus weapons
from their arsenals to trouble spots around the globe.
- Irresponsible
authorized arms exports: governments continue to export arms
to destinations where the weapons risk fueling human rights
abuses and armed conflict.
A fourth key concern,
lack of transparency, cuts across these issue areas.
In our view NATO
has an important responsibility to assess the progress of partner
countries and new allies in controlling arms transfers, to
identify areas needing further improvement, and to promote
needed changes. To contribute to such measures, we have prepared
a brief overview of our recent research findings on arms export
issues, covering developments over the past year in several
Central and Eastern European countries that have or are seeking
membership in NATO. The document also highlights our recommendations
for action. The briefing paper, which we will forward to you
under separate cover, is available at http://hrw.org/backgrounder/arms/nato1115-bck.htm.
As noted in that
document, in recent months there have been some positive developments
and an overall increased level of attention in Central and
Eastern Europe to the need to tighten arms trade controls.
NATO and its member states, through dialogue and assistance
to candidate countries and other partners, have contributed
to this momentum toward reform. We are troubled, however, that
irresponsible and illegal arms trading continues, as documented
with scores of examples in the briefing paper. We feel strongly
that these merit further attention, including after enlargement
decisions are finalized and new members begin to be integrated
into NATO.
We hope that your
government will take the opportunity to engage with NATO allies,
candidate countries, and other partners about these pressing
issues and work to secure needed improvements. In particular,
we hope NATO and its member states will:
- Make clear
that responsible arms trading practices, including strict
arms trade controls and the disposal of surplus weapons in
conformity with human rights criteria, are a requirement
for membership and the minimum standard expected of future
NATO members.
- Promote the
harmonization of arms trade controls within NATO to the highest
possible standard and actively encourage candidate countries
and future members to undertake needed reforms to meet those
standards.
- Take steps
to facilitate the progress of candidate countries and future
members, including in the form of practical assistance directed
to improving legal controls and law enforcement capacity
and efforts to enhance information sharing.
- Provide incentives,
including financial assistance, for the responsible disposal
(for example, through destruction) of surplus military equipment
held by candidate countries and future members.
- Make the transfer
of newer military equipment from NATO member states to candidate
countries and future members contingent on the recipient
country’s responsible disposal of quantities of surplus
weapons.
- Ensure that
efforts to address the glut of surplus weapons in Central
and Eastern Europe target heavy conventional weapons systems
as well as small arms and light weapons.
We appreciate your
attention to our concerns and look forward to continued dialogue
with you.
Sincerely yours,
Lisa Misol
Arms Trade Researcher
Human Rights Watch
Lotte Leicht
Director, Brussels Office
Human Rights Watch
cc: Secretary General Lord George Robertson
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