MODEL LETTER TO HOME GOVERNMENT – TO BE SENT BY AI ONLY OR WITH NGO PARTNERS

Mr. Su, Ge Ambassador

Chinese Embassy

Víðimelur 29
107 Reykjavík = ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; = ; Reykjavík 14.05.2010

Your Excellency Mr. Su, Ge

As your government prepares for the first sessi= on of the Preparatory Committee to deliberate on the content of an internation= al Arms Trade Treaty in July 2010, we write to stress the urgent need for an effective treaty that will stop irresponsible arms transfers and help stop human rights violations, save lives, and protect livelihoods. As a globally significant participant in the international arms trade, China h= as a particularly significant role to play in these Treaty deliberations. We urge you to use this role to respond to the needs of those who bear the human co= st of the irresponsible arms trade.

This week, from 10-16 May, civil society organisations in over 110 countries across Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe= are reminding governments that the poorly regulated global trade in conventional arms and ammunition has an enormous human cost. Every day, thousands of people are killed, injured, raped and forced to flee from their homes as a result of conflict, armed violence, and human rights violations = and abuses perpetrated using conventional arms.

Inadequate and loophole-ridden regulation of international transfers of conventional arms permits such weapons, equipment and munitions to be supplied to those violating human rights: destroying li= ves and threatening livelihoods Some of these devastating effects are summarise= d in the accompanying briefing document: “Killer Facts: the impact of t= he irresponsible arms trade on lives, rights and livelihoods.”<= /o:p>

The Arms Trade Treaty will address a glaring ga= p in international law. While there are treaties to regulate the global trade of many products, from bananas and dinosaur bones, there are no international rules for the trade in conventional weapons: products specifically designed= to kill and injure. Governments are finally addressing this gap.

A “strong and robust” treaty with “the highest possible common international standards”, = as mandated by UN General Assembly resolution 64/48, is one that prevents international transfers of conventional arms where there is credible and reliable information indicating a substantial risk that the intended recipi= ent is likely to use those arms to commit or facilitate grave harm, including:<= o:p>

· serious violations of international human rights law or international humanitarian law,

· acts of genocide or crimes against humanity,

· terrorist attacks,

· gross and systematic armed crime and violence,<= o:p>

· actions that seriously undermine poverty eradication objectives.

The treaty must require states to undertake a rigorous risk assessment when considering transferring weapons to another state. Where the risk of huma= n harm is too high, the transfer must be prohibited.

We recognise that China’s existing nation= al arms export law, and statements on the Arms Trade Treaty, acknowledge the r= ole of international standards in regulating international arms transfers. We a= lso note that your government’s submission to the 2007 UN Secretary General’s consultation on the feasibility of an Arms Trade Treaty stressed the importance for all states of the ‘Guidelines for international arms transfers’ adopted by the UN Disarmament Commission and endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 1996, which include the provision that “States should respect the principles and purposes of the Charte= r of the United Nations, including…respect for human rights”, as wel= l as other commonly-agreed ethical criteria. We welcome also the explicit provis= ion in China’s export control laws which prioritise China’s interna= tional treaty obligations, stating that “if any provision of the regulations contradicts international conventions to which the PRC is a signatory or in which the PRC participates, the provisions of international conventions app= ly, with the exception of those provisions on which the PRC has reserved its opinions” (Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Administration of Arms Exports 2002). <= /i> We urge the Chinese government to b= uild upon these national and international commitments in developing robust rules governing arms transfers within the Arms Trade Treaty.

To be effective the Arms Trade Treaty must also= regulate the global trade of:

·        all types of conventional military, security and police armaments, weapons and related materiel, including small arms and li= ght weapons;

·        conventional ammunition and explosives used for= the aforementioned;

·        weapons, ammunition and equipment deployed in the use of force by police and security forces;

·        components, expertise and equipment essential f= or the production, maintenance and use of the aforementioned; and

·        dual-use items that can have a military, securi= ty and police application.

To avoid loopholes, the Treaty must regulate all types of international transfer (import, export, transit, gifts, loans and other transfers) and the transactions essential for a transfer in each case (including brokering activity). Comprehensive national arms transfer contro= ls are in the interests of all states seeking to prevent illicitly or irresponsibly transferred weapons from threatening their own security and t= hat of individuals around the world, as China’s September 2005 White Pape= r on arms control robustly recognised, stating that China “stands for greater efforts at the national, regional and international levels to seek a comprehensive solution” to “combating illegal activities= in the field of small arms and light weapons (SALW)…maintaining regional peace, stability and development, fighting terrorism and cracking down upon such transnational organized crimes as drug-trafficking and smuggling”= ;

Transparency in the international arms trade mu= st be enhanced through robust reporting and record-keeping provisions. To ensure effective implementation= , the Treaty should enforcement and dispute resolution mechanisms, and procedures= for international cooperation and assistance.

Please use the forthcoming UN Preparatory Commi= ttee (PrepCom) meetings in July to signal your government’s intent to negotiate an Arms Trade Treaty with these essential elements.

Yours sincerely,

Jóhanna K. Eyjólfsdóttir

Director

Amnesty International Icelandic Section