NATO should make the fight against arms trafficking a top priority in Central and Eastern Europe, Human Rights Watch said today. On March 26, foreign ministers of the seven countries invited to join NATO are expected to attend the signing of the accession protocols in Brussels.
The seven invitees--Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia--are expected to join the alliance by May 2004, following ratification of the accession protocols by parliaments of existing NATO states.
While the world is focused on the threat of weapons of mass destruction and the current war in Iraq, the dangers posed by the uncontrolled trade in conventional weapons must not be ignored, Human Rights Watch said.
According to Human Rights Watch research, potential future NATO members have trafficked conventional weapons to warring parties who are committing serious human rights abuse.
"NATO needs to set a clear standard on the arms trade and help countries meet it," said Lisa Misol, arms trade researcher with Human Rights Watch. "Countries that fail shouldn't be admitted until they've cleaned up the trade."
The flow of small arms and light weapons, as well as heavier military equipment, from Central and Eastern Europe to conflict zones in Africa and elsewhere has undermined human rights protections for civilians in the recipient countries.
Human Rights Watch has documented that:
- Arms traffickers are often able to bypass lax laws to supply weapons to illegal destinations.
- Governments continue to sell surplus weapons from their arsenals to trouble spots around the globe.
- Governments continue to authorize arms exports to destinations where the weapons risk fueling human rights abuses and armed conflict.
NATO and member states have helped promote important reform efforts in several invitee countries, Human Rights Watch noted, but further work is needed.
"National parliaments should raise the arms trade issue when accession comes up for a vote," Misol said. She added that many NATO countries also need to show leadership by improving their own arms trade behavior.
NATO's secretary-general, Lord George Robertson, has highlighted the importance of arms trade controls. In a December 2002 letter to Human Rights Watch, he identified "responsible arms trading practices" as a component of the common values NATO embodies and noted: "Support for arms control is an indispensable component of the [NATO] Alliance's security.
