Darfur Arms Trade
The Government of Sudan has been accused by observers on the ground of supporting the Janjawid armed groups in the Darfur region. Amnesty International has published details of the arms exports that have fuelled massive human rights abuses in Sudan, including the killing, rape, torture and displacement of more than a million civilians since the Darfur conflict began in February 2003.
Arms Trade Facts:
- Anyone with a cell phone, computer and connections to supplies of weapons and means of transporting them can act as an arms broker
- Many arms brokers have gained experience and connections in the military or intelligence service of one or more countries
- Some of the world's most notorious gunrunners in recent years have been based in Eastern and Western Europe, Russia, the former Soviet republics, and South Africa
- Only 25 governments have laws specifically regulating arms brokers, and even the ones that do have laws lack the essential requirements for effective enforcement.
- Many governments do not regulate arms brokering when the brokering activity does not take place within their legal boundaries. For example, in 2004 an Irish arms broker negotiated to transfer 50 T72 tanks from Ukraine to Sudan. The government knew this but could not do anything because there were no laws controlling Irish arms brokers arranging arms trade from other countries.
- U.S. law requires U.S. brokers living anywhere and foreign nationals residing in the United States to register and obtain licenses for all arms deals they transact.Not only does the law empower U.S. implementing and enforcing agencies to keep track of the number of brokers and their operations, it also subjects violators to U.S. jurisdiction wherever an offense has been committed.
- An international agreement that sets requirements for governments to work together to share information and prosecute guilty individuals would harmonize national laws so that arms brokers that attempt to violate UN arms embargoes would be more easily prosecuted.
