US flouting Arms Trade Treaty with weapons exports to Israel: Amnesty

LONDON: The US is continuing to violate a significant arms treaty by selling weapons to Israel, Amnesty International has warned.

The NGO said the flouting of the Arms Trade Treaty is leading to “devastating loss of life” in the Occupied Territories, in particular Gaza.

In 2013, 155 states worldwide adopted the treaty, which established new regulations on the sale of weapons in a bid to prevent “unlawful arms transfers that facilitate grave abuses.”

But despite being a signatory, the US has continued to provide Israel with weapons that have been used in unlawful airstrikes, Amnesty reported.

Last October, American JDAM bombs were launched by Israel on homes in Gaza, killing 43 civilians, including 19 children.

In January, Israel used a US-built GBU-39 guided bomb to target a family home in Rafah, killing 18 civilians, including 10 children.

Patrick Wilcken, the NGO’s researcher on military, security and policing, said: “Amnesty International has long been calling for a comprehensive arms embargo on both Israel and Palestinian armed groups because of longstanding patterns of serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including war crimes, leading to horrific impacts on civilians, including women and children.

“States parties and signatories, including the US — the largest provider of arms to Israel — continue to license arms transfers to Israel in spite of overwhelming evidence of war crimes committed by Israeli forces.”

Amnesty described the continued sale of weapons to Israel by the US as a “stark example of failure … to fully comply” with the treaty.

The NGO is calling for an end to weapons sales to Israel at the 10th Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty, which began on Monday.

The treaty “is the first of its kind to set global standards to govern the international trade in conventional arms and munitions. The legality of an arms transfer is now explicitly linked to international human rights and humanitarian law rules,” said Wilcken.

“Although progress has been achieved, numerous governments continue to brazenly flout the rules, leading to a huge loss of life in conflict zones.

“It is time for state parties to live up to their legal obligations and fully implement the Arms Trade Treaty, to prohibit the flow of arms to countries when it is known they would be used for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or if it could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international human rights or humanitarian law.”