Some of the world’s largest arms exporters continue to openly violate the rules of the Arms Trade Treaty through illegal arms shipments, causing devastating loss of life in conflict zones such as the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly the occupied Gaza Strip, Sudan and Myanmar, Amnesty International said more than ten years after the treaty was adopted.

Since the Arms Trade Treaty came into force nearly a decade ago, Amnesty International has continued to document and expose illegal arms transfers that facilitate serious human rights abuses and violate the strict, legally binding global rules on international arms transfers established by the treaty. On 2 April 2013, a total of 155 states voted to adopt the Arms Trade Treaty. Today, the treaty has 115 states parties and 27 signatories, including all 10 of the largest arms exporters – accounting for over 90% of the arms trade – with the exception of Russia.

“The Arms Trade Treaty is the first of its kind to set global standards for the international trade in conventional arms and ammunition. The legality of an arms transfer is now explicitly linked to international human rights and humanitarian standards,” said Patrick Wilcken, military, security and policing researcher at Amnesty International.

“While progress has been made, numerous governments continue to blatantly flout the rules, resulting in enormous loss of life in conflict zones. It is time for States Parties to live up to their legal obligations and fully implement the Arms Trade Treaty to prohibit the flow of arms to countries known to have the potential to be used for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or serious violations of international human rights or humanitarian law.”

Illegal arms deliveries to Israel

The continued supply of arms to Israel is a blatant example of the failure of the States Parties to fully comply with the Arms Trade Treaty or, as regards the signatories, not to undermine its aim and purpose.

“Amnesty International has long called for a comprehensive arms embargo against Israel and Palestinian armed groups due to their long history of serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including war crimes, which have had a devastating impact on civilians, including women and children,” said Patrick Wilcken.

“States parties and signatories, including the United States – Israel’s largest arms supplier – continue to authorize arms deliveries to Israel despite overwhelming evidence of war crimes committed by Israeli forces.”

Amnesty International has long called for a comprehensive arms embargo against both Israel and Palestinian armed groups, given their longstanding record of serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.”

Patrick Wilcken, military, security and policing researcher at Amnesty International

For example, Amnesty International has documented the use of US-made weapons in a number of unlawful airstrikes. This included the use of US-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) in two deadly, unlawful airstrikes on homes in the occupied Gaza Strip on 10 and 22 October 2023, which killed 43 civilians – 19 children, 14 women and 10 men.

In an Israeli attack in January 2024, a GBU-39 small bomb, manufactured in the United States by Boeing, was used to hit a family home in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, killing 18 civilians, including ten children, four men and four women.

Illegal arms trade fuels unrest in Sudan

Illegal arms shipments have also caused unrest in Sudan. Since the conflict escalated in April 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a massive human rights and humanitarian crisis. Fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allies has left more than 16,650 people dead and displaced millions more, making Sudan the largest internal displacement crisis in the world.

Despite this crisis and a UN Security Council arms embargo on the Darfur region, Amnesty International continues to document significant arms flows into the conflict. Amnesty International has recently identified manufactured weapons and military equipment from countries such as China and Serbia, which are signatories to the Arms Trade Treaty, as well as signatories Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), that are imported into Sudan in large quantities and then, in some cases, diverted to Darfur, fuelling violence.

Myanmar imports weapons worth at least $1 billion

According to the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, since its military coup in February 2021, the military has imported at least one billion US dollars worth of weapons, dual-use items, equipment and raw materials for weapons production, including from China.

“The Myanmar military has repeatedly used these weapons to attack civilians and civilian objects in the three years since the coup, often destroying or damaging schools, religious buildings and other important infrastructure,” said Patrick Wilcken.

Move forward

Since the early 1990s, Amnesty International has been campaigning with non-governmental organizations for robust, legally binding global rules on the international arms trade to stem the flow of weapons that fuel atrocities. But more is needed to ensure compliance with this treaty and prevent further bloodshed.

“These dangerous weapons have cost too many human lives. The States Parties and signatories to the Arms Trade Treaty can no longer afford to fail to meet their obligations,” said Patrick Wilcken. “As the Arms Trade Treaty enters into force soon after ten years, states must remain faithful to the treaty and reduce human suffering now.”

Notes for editors

• The 10th Conference of the States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty will take place from August 19 to 23. Amnesty International is calling for a halt to arms sales to Israel.
• On April 2, 2013, a total of 155 states in the UN General Assembly voted to adopt the Arms Trade Treaty, which came into force in December 2014.
• More than a million people around the world took part in the campaign, calling on governments to agree to a strong arms trade treaty with strict rules to protect human lives.
• According to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the United States, a signatory state, is responsible for 42 percent of the global arms trade. Some of the supplies made by States Parties and signatories clearly violate the Arms Trade Treaty’s fundamental human rights obligations and principles.
• According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), total military spending increased for the ninth consecutive year in 2023, reaching a total of over $2.4 trillion – the highest level SIPRI has ever recorded.