Amnesty seeks weapon transport control

Amnesty seeks weapon transport control
   Amnesty International said states are failing to adequately control the transport of conventional weapons around the world leading to serious human rights violations.
   The organization is calling for an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to prevent unauthorized or irresponsible international transfers of weapons, munitions and related equipment internationally.
   It said such a law “must therefore require states to impose effective controls and reporting requirements on the transport and transporters of arms, including through free trade zones. Without such requirements, the ATT will fail to address a significant gap in international arms transfer controls, and will deprive states of a key tool to prevent arms transfers where it can be foreseen the arms are likely to be used to violate human rights and destroy lives and livelihoods contrary to international law.”
   Amnesty made the call in a new report, which it said “highlights how transport companies registered in China, France, the Russian Federation, the U.K., and the USA — the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — are able to move conventional weapons and munitions to countries where they could be used to commit rights violations and war crimes.”
   'Lax controls on arms shippers and flyers who increasingly move conventional arms around the world are not confined to jurisdictions with weak arms export and import laws,' said Brian Wood, arms control manager for Amnesty International. 'To save lives and protect human rights, the arms trade treaty being negotiated at the U.N. must address the role of transporters and other intermediaries in arms supply chains, not just specify what states' export and import licensing procedures should be.
   “There is a clear need for the consistent and coherent incorporation of states' existing powers and obligations to regulate arms transportation, into an international instrument such as the ATT,' Wood said.