{"id":22542,"date":"2021-05-10T15:41:42","date_gmt":"2021-05-10T13:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipisresearch.be\/\/?post_type=weekly-briefing&p=22542"},"modified":"2021-05-10T15:41:42","modified_gmt":"2021-05-10T13:41:42","slug":"arms-trade-bulletin-march-april-2021","status":"publish","type":"weekly-briefing","link":"https:\/\/ipisresearch.be\/fr\/weekly-briefing\/arms-trade-bulletin-march-april-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Arms Trade Bulletin March – April 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

ARMS TRANSFERS TO MYANMAR <\/span><\/h1>\n

International Peace Information Service vzw & Omega Research Foundation<\/p>\n

On Saturday March 27<\/span>th<\/span><\/sup> 2021 more than 100 pro-democracy protesters were killed by the Myanmar security forces. Myanmar’s armed forces staged a coup d’\u00e9tat against the country’s democratically elected government on 1 f\u00e9vrier 2021. Mass protests across the country were unleashed following the coup. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For decades Myanmar’s border regions have been ravaged by ethnic conflict between the Myanmar security forces and ethnic armed groups. The Myanmar security forces are engaged in armed conflict with minorities in Chin, Kachin, Kayin, Rakhine and Shan States. Some 20 armed ethnic groups are identified, and hundreds of armed (ethnic) militia, linked to the Myanmar military. <\/span><\/p>\n

On March 11 the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar said \u201cthat there is growing evidence that [the] Myanmar military… is now likely engaging in crimes against humanity, including the acts of murder, enforced disappearance, persecution, torture, and imprisonment in violation of fundamental rules of international law\u201d (A\/75\/335). In their 2018 and 2019 reports, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar documented, since 2011, consistent patterns of serious human rights violations and abuses in Chin, Kachin, Kayin, Rakhine and Shan States, in addition to serious violations of international humanitarian law, predominantly by the Myanmar security forces (See A\/HRC\/42\/CRP.3; A\/HRC\/42\/CRP.5). <\/span><\/p>\n

The Myanmar government currently stands accused of the charge of genocide of the Rohingya before the International Court of Justice.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Special Rapporteur has been calling for targeted sanctions against the junta\u2019s business enterprises and the imposition of an arms embargo. The European Union had imposed restrictive measures, including an arms embargo, on Myanmar in 1990. The measures were lifted in April 2013, except for the arms embargo and the embargo on equipment which might be used for internal repression. The EU re-imposed restrictive measures in 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

The armed violence in the border regions includes air strikes, shelling with (heavy) artillery, and small arms and light weapons fire (A\/HRC\/42\/CRP.3). Russian made BRDM-2MS and Ukrainian made BTR-3 armoured personnel carriers were used by the military in the February 1 coup. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to the United Nations International Trade Statistics Database (COMTRADE) and the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) the main suppliers of arms and ammunition to Myanmar, between 2001 and 2019, have been China, India, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine. The transfers included, more specifically: tanks, armoured personnel carriers, artillery systems, rocket launchers, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, parts and accessories, and ammunition.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2019 news media reported that Ukrspetsexport, Ukraine\u2019s arms export agency, was planning to establish a plant for the production of armoured personnel carriers in Myanmar. It is not known if the plant has become operational.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the 1950s small arms and light weapons manufacturing technology has been provided to the Directorate of Defence Industries by various states. In the 1950s the German government owned company Fritz-Werner provided the means to manufacture an Italian sub-machine gun under licence. This was quickly followed by the supply of ammunition factories. The German government provided export licences for the transfer of ammunition production technology as late as 1988. In the 1960s Fritz-Werner provided the factories to manufacture Heckler and Koch, and Rheinmetall small arms under licence. Starting from the late 1990s Singapore and Israel provided technology and expertise to manufacture small arms and light weapons (1).<\/span><\/p>\n

A March 2021 article in the New York Times reported on the possibility that dual-use surveillance technology made by Israeli, American and European companies has found its way to Myanmar (2).<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, the Omega Research Foundation has identified, from images of weapons used mainly by Myanmar law enforcement, the following: <\/span><\/p>\n