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Spain: A breakthrough in weapons trade transparency
AI, Fundaciò per la Pau, Greenpeace and Intermon Oxfam celebrate important civil society victory. A law makes arms trade transparent for the first time, by Tiziano Codazzi
di Staff
Amnesty International, Fundaciò per la Pau, Greenpeace and Intermon Oxfam are celebrating an important civil society victory in Spain. Following a 12 year long campaign to make the trade in arms transparent, the Spanish Congress of Deputies has finally approved a law on the trade of weapons. The NGOs now ask that the Senate also ?approve the law as quickly as possible?.
The four international organizations have highlighted that this is ?the first time that Spanish foreign trade in weapons will be regulated?. According to the NGOs, this is ?an important step because uncontrolled global weapons sale causes a death every minute.?.
?Once it is approved by the Senate, the law will oblige the government to deny any weapons transfers that are not in line with the European Union Code of Conduct criteria which states that weapons cannot be exported to countries that violate human rights?.
Respect for human rights
Moreover the new law will oblige trading parties and the government to release information about their export activities. Previously this information had been treated as a state secret. It was in fact ?impossible to know the details relating to weapon sales, including the destination of arms exported from Spain. We cannot know what criteria have been used to guarantee that trade is not having a negative impact abroad?.
Companies and arms dealers will from now on have to include clauses that bind buyers to not re-export the weapons they buy in their contracts, as well as to give out information on transport methods and the countries that the weapons must travel through to reach their destination.
Weapons and ammunition used for hunting will be considered weapons under the new law. This is an important step because Spain is the main exporter of weapons supposedly meant for hunting to Sub-Saharan Africa. In the past year Spain has sold Ghana ammunitions for a total of 3.2 million euros.
Spain 8th most important trader in arms
According to the last official information, in 2006 Spain sold weapons for a total of 845 million euros, placing itself at the eighth place among the biggest weapons exporters in the world. Spain sold 441 thousand euros worth of weapons to Israel, a million euros worth to Pakistan, more than 16 million euros worth to Morocco and more than 3 million euros worth to Venezuela. According to this official information among the types of weapons sold were ?category 4? items like bombs, torpedoes, rockets and missiles.
Other countries that have bought weapons from Spain include Iran, China and Colombia but ? we cannot know what has been bought and sold exactly? conclude the representatives of the organizations.
