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17-11-2004 Scotsman UK firm linked to Sudan arms deal in spite of EU embargo, says Amnesty By Gethin Chamberlain A BRITISH company has been accused of involvement in weapons deals with the Sudanese government in spite of a European Union embargo imposed ten years ago. Amnesty International claims weapons, ammunition, aircraft and vehicles sold to the Sudanese government were used to commit suspected crimes against humanity in the country's Darfur region. It called for a United Nations arms embargo to stop the violence. Amnesty said it had seen Sudanese end-user certificates apparently authorising a Kent firm, Endeavour Resources, to negotiate on behalf of the Khartoum authorities for the supply of handguns from a Brazilian exporter and for Antonov military aircraft from a Ukrainian arms exporter. The Export Control Act forbids British nationals and residents from brokering weapons deals to countries subject to an EU arms embargo, such as Sudan. "It is sickening that UK companies may be attempting to profit from people's misery in Sudan, by supplying the weapons that are used to kill, maim and drive people from their homes," said Stephen Bowen, Amnesty International's UK campaigns director. "The Export Control Act was put in place to stop this happening. The UK government must use its powers to clamp down on any UK companies trying to cash in on a conflict that has already claimed thousands of lives." The Amnesty report also details alleged arms exports involving a number of other countries, including Ireland, France, Russia and Poland. It claims that the weapons trade has "fuelled" the killing, rape, torture and forced displacement of more than a million civilians in the Darfur province since February 2003. Amnesty is calling for all governments to tackle illicit arms transfers and for a UN embargo on arms sales to all parties in Sudan, including its government forces. They and militia had used the arms for "grave human rights violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity", the report said. Researchers from the organisation uncovered arms deals that violated an EU embargo imposed in 1994. They also detailed how other supplies and equipment that had been legally purchased by the government were used to attack and kill civilians. "The UN Security Council this week should take urgent action to apply a full United Nations mandated arms embargo on Sudan, with a robust monitoring mechanism," said Brian Wood, an arms researcher. The Security Council is due to meet in Nairobi tomorrow and Friday to discuss the ongoing fighting in Darfur and a separate peace process to end a civil war in southern Sudan. It is expected to pass a resolution calling for additional steps by the Khartoum government to end the violence and humanitarian crisis in Darfur, but a current draft falls short of taking any concrete action. The UN says the conflict has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, claiming at least 70,000 lives since March - mostly from disease, hunger and hardships caused by being uprooted. Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, told the Security Council on 3 November that there were strong indications that war crimes and crimes against humanity had been committed "on a large and systematic scale" in Darfur. The Security Council has passed already two resolutions on Darfur, threatening sanctions against Sudan's government if it does not disarm and prosecute the militias and others responsible for abuses in the province.
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................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
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