Briefings
Arms Trade Bulletin January – February 2020
THE LIBYAN CONUNDRUM Since ousting Gaddafi in 2011 Libya has succumbed into chaos. The country is since 2014/15 split into two factions: the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), which enjoys UN recognition, and the Tobruk-based Libyan House of Representatives. Despite a UN arms embargo both sides receive material support from various countries. The Libyan House of Representatives is
IPIS Briefing February 2020 – Focus on Beni
The IPIS briefing offers a selection of articles, news and updates on natural resources, armed conflict, Business & Human Rights and arms trade. Every month, an editorial and related publications shed a light on a specific topic in IPIS’ areas of research. In focus: Violence in Beni. In the news: South African court refuses to extradite convicted Dutch arms dealer; Is the African Union Capabl
IPIS Briefing January 2020 – Focus on GIS4Peace
The IPIS briefing offers a selection of articles, news and updates on natural resources, armed conflict, Business & Human Rights and arms trade. Every month, an editorial and related publications shed a light on a specific topic in IPIS’ areas of research. In focus: GIS4Peace, from desk research to field implementation. In the news: Congolese army implicated in natural resources trade; Qatar
Arms Trade Bulletin November – December 2019
THE CASE FOR ON-SITE INSPECTIONS South Africa has decided to block arms exports to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Algeria after these countries refused to allow South African officials to inspect their facilities to verify compliance with the South African National Conventional Arms Control Act and South African National Conventional Arms Control Regulations. The clause in the end-us
IPIS Briefing December 2019 – Focus on defence-related companies in Africa
The IPIS briefing offers a selection of articles, news and updates on natural resources, armed conflict, Business & Human Rights and arms trade. Every month, an editorial and related publications shed a light on a specific topic in IPIS’ areas of research. In focus: defence-related companies in Africa In the news: human rights under pressure in Tanzania; Apple, Google and Microsoft in the do
IPIS Briefing November 2019 – Focus on Kimberley Process after failed reform cycle
The IPIS briefing offers a selection of articles, news and updates on natural resources, armed conflict, Business & Human Rights and arms trade. Every month, an editorial and related publications shed a light on a specific topic in IPIS’ areas of research. In focus: Kimberley Process after failed reform cycle. In the news: United Nations takes step in developing a Treaty on Business and Human
Arms Trade Bulletin September – October 2019
EDITORIAL « The Kurds ‘didn’t help us’ in Normandy » On 8 October the invasion of northern Syria by Turkey began with air strikes on the positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). This military offensive came after a telephone call between president Trump and president Erdogan on 6 October. Trump had agreed to withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria. The U.S. media speculate that Trump’s will
IPIS Briefing October 2019 – Guiding companies on Human Rights Duties
The IPIS briefing offers a selection of articles, news and updates on natural resources, armed conflict, Business & Human Rights and arms trade. Every month, an editorial and related publications shed a light on a specific topic in IPIS’ areas of research. In focus: Guiding companies on their human rights duties. In the news: new Cold War in Africa?; Tshisekedi interview; Russia and Central A
Briefing on « Business & Human Rights in Tanzania » – 2019 Quarter 2: April – June
This publication is part of the ‘Improving monitoring, research and dialogue on Business & Human Rights in Tanzania’ project implemented by the Tanzanian Commission for Human Rights and GoodGovernance (CHRAGG), Business and Human Rights Tanzania (BHRT) and the International Peace Information Service (IPIS). This briefing is based on news and research published by Tanzanian and international m
Arms Trade Bulletin July – August 2019
Gender-Based Violence and Arms Transfer Controls – is it still just talk and no real action? The Fifth Conference of States Parties (CSP5) to the Arms Trade Treaty was being held in Geneva between 26th and 30th August 2019. The theme of CSP5 was gender and gender based violence (GBV), which is a very widespread problem worldwide, fuelled as it is by dominant cultures that equate masculinity with t
Arms Trade Bulletin May – June 2019
Arms proliferation still undermining peace prospects in Libya The chaos within Libya has given rise to a score of armed groups. Porous borders and the cross-border proliferation of arms and ammunition enables these armed groups to engage in a wide variety of illegal activities, which in turn undermine peace and security in Libya and the neighbouring countries. Weapons from Libya’s stockpile
Briefing on « Business & Human Rights in Tanzania » – 2019 Quarter 1: January – March
This publication is part of the ‘Improving monitoring, research and dialogue on Business & Human Rights in Tanzania’ project implemented by the Tanzanian Commission for Human Rights and GoodGovernance (CHRAGG), Business and Human Rights Tanzania (BHRT) and the International Peace Information Service (IPIS). This briefing is based on news and research published by Tanzanian and international m
Arms Trade Bulletin March-April 2019
UK arms supplies to Saudi Arabia – a view from London “This is the fourth anniversary of the latest stage of a terrible conflict. Britain will do everything possible to ensure that Yemen’s people do not have to suffer a fifth.” These were the words of the Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt in March 2019, on the fourth anniversary of the Saudi-led bombing of Yemen. That same day, Saudi-led forces bom
Arms Trade Bulletin – December 2018 – February 2019
STOP ARMING YEMEN THE VIEW FROM PARIS By Benoît Muracciole and Jean Claude Alt for ASER All parties involved in the war in Yemen continue to plunge the population into what the United Nations Secretary General has denounced as « the planet’s worst humanitarian crisis.” One estimate put the death toll at nearly 60,000 since 2016. Hostilities between the Saudi Arabia-led Coalition and the Houthi and
Briefing on « Business & Human Rights in Tanzania » – 2018 Quarter 3: July – September
This publication is part of the ‘Improving monitoring, research and dialogue on Business & Human Rights in Tanzania’ project implemented by the Tanzanian Commission for Human Rights and GoodGovernance (CHRAGG), Business and Human Rights Tanzania (BHRT) and the International Peace Information Service (IPIS). This briefing is based on news and research published by Tanzanian and international m
Arms Trade Highlights October-November 2018
EDITORIAL No Common Position By Frank Slijper – PAX The murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October put the Saudi royal family under more pressure than the immense human suffering in Yemen largely caused by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Especially for Yemenites, the public outcry after Khashoggi’s killing is a cynical co
Arms Trade Highlights July-September 2018
“A high rate of access to firearms results in a high rate of intentional deaths with firearms (e.g. homicides and suicides)”. That is the conclusion of a new study on “Global Mortality from Firearms, 1990-2016” in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The research was done by the Global Burden of Disease 2016 Injury Collaborators at various universities and research centres. The authors
Arms Trade Highlights May – June 2018
On 8 June 2018 the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court acquited the Congolese businessman Jean-Pierre Bemba from the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the troops of his Mouvement de libération congolais (MLC) in the Central African Republic between October 2002 and March 2003. The then President of the Central African Republic, Ange-Félix Patassé, had c
Arms Trade Highlights March – April 2018
This briefing on arms trade demonstrates once again how arms or military technology and equipment are exported from European countries to countries where, arguably, they can contribute to serious human rights violations or violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Some of these transfers are challenged by civil society. On 12 April the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) was at the Court
Arms Trade Highlights: January – February 2018
The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is entering its fourth year. For signatories to the ATT, its implementation and translation into national laws often remains a challenging work-in-progress. Others, like Canada, have plans to accede to the ATT. For a thorough legal and practical analysis of the ATT, we like to remind you of the book “Weapons and International law: The Arms Trade Treaty”, published by La
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