Over 30 Countries Risk Violating the Darfur Arms Embargo

Last week, Human Rights First reported that over 30 nations may be in violation of the UN arms embargo on Darfur.

Arms Sales to Sudan, 2004-2006 uses public data to track international arms sales and clearly shows that large amounts of arms continue to enter Sudan from dozens of nations around the globe. The unrelenting flow of arms into Darfur is fueling violence that has already resulted in hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths. Countries provide arms in one of two ways, either as direct importers (Category 1) or as manufacturers of weapons that eventually end up in Sudan (Category 2).

Category 1 consists of twelve nations, including China, India, Kenya, Iran and Russia that admit to selling arms directly to Sudan. In some cases, such as Spain, countries report selling small amounts of gun parts or ammunition. Others, such as China and India, report selling tens of millions of dollars in arms, tanks and military aircraft to Sudan. Sudanese government forces have used these weapons on attacks against civilians in Darfur.

Arms sales by Category 2 countries are reported to public databases by Sudan, which reports the “country of origin” of any weapons that it imports. Twenty four countries are on Sudan’s list for 2004-2006 as the producers of weapons that entered the country, including France, Kuwait, Germany, and the United States.

Human Rights First asked all countries to explain their arms sales to Sudan, in spite of the Darfur embargo and the government’s association with atrocities in Darfur. Some of them, including the United States, denied authorizing shipments to Sudan and several have promised to launch investigations into the matter. Still others have given no reply.

The numbers don’t lie; the arms embargo against Darfur is quite simply not strong enough. Countries must take immediate action to stop all arms sales to Sudan and begin monitoring the final destination of all the weapons that they produce.

Along with the Report Card, Human Rights First has released A Three-Step Guide to Strengthening the Darfur Arms Embargo, listing three specific actions that will, if taken, drastically reduce the flood of arms into Darfur.

First, stop imports of Chinese A-5 “Fantan” attack aircraft to Sudan, including imports of any spare parts that will allow A-5s already in Sudan to remain operational.

Chinese A-5s on the ground in Darfur (Nyala airport)

The BBC has documented A-5 aircraft that are armed with heavy machine guns and have been used to attack civilian targets as recently as February 2008. This report and others belie Sudan’s claim that these planes are not being used in Darfur is false and the UN Security Council should take steps to see that A-5s no longer reach Sudan.

Second, stop imports of Russian Mi-24 and Mi-171 helicopters to Sudan and suspend any deal that includes maintenance or pilot training. Again, the UN Panel of Experts and other observers have shown that Sudan’s claims that the helicopters are not being used in Darfur are completely false.

Mi-24 helicopter landing in Darfur (El Fasher airport)

The Panel of Experts has shown that the helicopters are not only active in Darfur, but also that some have been painted white in order to disguise them as UN aircraft. Those white helicopters were then used as attack helicopters. These helicopters not only violate the embargo, they put UN peacekeepers in danger by their actions.

The third step is to stop military cargo flights to Darfur. Sudan needs private air cargo companies to transport its guns and tanks to remote areas. Those companies profits will suffer if countries come together and “blacklist” any plane that flies weapons into Darfur. Once profits suffer, they will be less inclined to undertake gun-running flights. Blacklisting has proven effective in enforcing other embargoes, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and could sever a vital link in the supply chain that brings arms into Darfur.

These steps, combined with a commitment by countries to cease arms sales to Sudan, would go a long way to reducing the prevalence of weapons in Darfur, and would send a strong signal to the warring parties that continued abuses will not be tolerated.