A new report Arms Without Borders by Control Arms Campaign: Oxfam International, Amnesty International and International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) highlights how the globalisation of the arms industry has opened up major loopholes in all current arms export regulations, allowing sales to human rights abusers and countries under arms embargoes.
The report, was launched on Monday 2nd October to coincide with the United Nations annual session on arms control, in the run up to a landmark vote at the UN to start work on an Arms Trade Treaty.
The report reveals that US, EU and Canadian companies are among those able to circumvent arms regulations by selling weapon components and subcontracting arms manufacturing overseas. The report details how weapons, including attack helicopters and combat trucks, are being assembled from foreign components and manufactured under licence in countries including China, Egypt, India, Israel and Turkey.
The report shows how these or similar weapons have ended up in destinations such as Colombia, Sudan and Uzbekistan where they have reportedly been used for the killing and displacement of civilians, highlighting the urgent need for global rules to regulate an increasingly globalised industry.
To help illustrate this and gain press attention, the campaign approached Artem to build a ½ scale model of a Z10 Helicopter whose different component parts are branded with the country they were made in. Branded weapon part packing cases and missiles were also produced.
Artem SFX Designer/Supervisor, Bob Thorne, said:
“This was a very ambitious build as we had just 6 days from confirmation to delivery! However, we worked round the clock and through the weekend to ensure that the 20ft aircraft was ready for the press launch on Monday morning. It was a really nice model making job for a worthy cause that required creative use of materials in order to get the desired result in the time. We were really pleased with the result.” |
