A new report from Amnesty International describes 'very serious failures' in the process which has flooded Iraq with weapons since the US-led invasion in 2003, allowing guns to be diverted to insurgents despite grave abuses of human rights by all parties in the conflict.

The supply of at least a million infantry weapons and pistols (with ammunition), as well as other munitions and military equipment, has been mainly sponsored by the US Department of Defense. The purpose was to arm the 531,000 members of the Iraqi security forces, who mostly lack basic training in human rights and accountability. These weapons came on top of the massive proliferation and misuse of arms already fostered by the former regime of Saddam Hussein.

Titled “Blood at the Crossroads”, the report was released on 17 September to coincide with the Control Arms Global Week of Action on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). It provides example of sloppy accounting and stockpile management practices by Iraqi, US and UK forces, as well as case studies from Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Guatemala, Guinea, Iraq, Myanmar, Somalia, the Darfur region of Sudan and the border of Uganda. The absence of effective arms transfer control standards based on international law has fuelled gross violations of human rights. Click here for more information on the report.

The UN General Assembly is due to resume discussions on the proposed ATT from 6 October. It is hoped these and other case studies will prompt a better understanding of why a Treaty with provisions for human rights protection is urgently needed.