Amnesty International asks to veto the sale of firearms to the US for its lack of control | Spain

Amnesty International has asked Spain to Do not authorize « Exports of firearms and hunting weapons and sports shooting to the United States », Before « the absence of sufficient control measures to mitigate the risk of perpetuation of the cycle of armed violence » that is lived in that country and « the cost and suffering that generates » free trade of this type of weapons in the first power in the world.

According to The Report on Export of Defense and Double Use Materials sent by the Government to Congress, The US is, with great difference, the main destination of Spanish exports of products such as rifles, shotguns, carbines, guns or revolvers. In 2023, the Executive authorized 90 licenses for the sale of hunting weapons and ammunition to that country worth 233.9 million (66% of what is authorized for everyone) and executed operations for an amount of 87.4 million (64.4% of the total). In the first semester of 2024, 29 licenses for 199.2 million were approved and exported by 42. 70% of buyers are private companies and the rest, Armerías.

The Human Rights Defensor Firearms And more than 40,000 people die every year there for shots, a figure of a country at war. Although in the US there are more than 400 million weapons in circulation and the largest world manufacturers are there, that country imports huge amounts of guns, rifles and rifles (up to 6.8 million in 2020). Alberto Estévez, an expert in AI arms trade, denounces the lack of control and transparency of these exports, of which 50% correspond to ammunition and 42% to rifles. Until now, the new administration has not announced specific tariffs for these products.

The recommendation not to authorize the sale of hunting weapons and sports shooting to the US is part of the list sent by amnesty to the parliamentary groups that, after the appearance last Tuesday of the Secretary of State for Commerce, Amparo López Senovilla, must present in the coming weeks proposed resolution to improve the control of Spanish exports of material and defense and double use.

Thus, Amnesty International asks that « the suspension of arms transfers to Israel »; that the final destination of temporary exports to that country of military material is guaranteed for repair or re -export to third countries (such as the 18 armored for the Army of the Philippines ending in Israel); and an embargo on defense systems to that country by the EU is promoted; In addition to maintaining the decision not to authorize ships of ships with weapons for the Israeli army by Spanish waters. It also claims that the alleged flights of aircraft loaded with military material from the Zaragoza base denounced by several NGOs, on which Amnesty is not pronounced because it could not have verify them.

In his appearance before the Defense Commission of the Congress, the Secretary of State for Commerce reiterated that “no definitive export operation of defense or double use material (civil and military) has been authorized to Israel” since October 7, 2023 -when there was the terrorist attack of Hamas that triggered the Offensive on Gaza which has already killed more than 50,000 Palestinians- and assured that the transfers of military equipment that have been made since then have been temporarily « for repair or maintenance. » After stressing that the government’s position in this conflict is « clear and forceful, » López Senovilla revealed that last year 88 export operations of double -use material were denied; Of those that more than half (47) had as destination Israel and almost half (20) could end up ending up being used for the armed forces.

AI also claims that weapons transfers to the Saudi border guard are not authorized as long as the mass homicide of Ethiopian migrants and that the approval of new licenses to which the impunity of war crimes committed in Yemen is conditioned is conditioned. In addition, he asks that the last destination verification protocol be applied to the supplies to the United Arab Emirates (USA) to avoid his diversion to Sudan, plunged into a civil war.

The NGO also requests the focus on Kenya and Peru and the sending of police material with these destinations is not authorized until the investigation of the brutal repression of protests which occurred in both countries between 2022 and 2024. The same recommendation extends to the sale of security material and riot to Bangladesh, Morocco and Mauritania.

Finally, Amnesty International asks that the application of the Ex Post (after-sales) verification protocol be made public after five years of its implementation- the Secretary of State revealed that it has been applied to 42 operations with 21 countries, but did not want to reveal its identity; and that a new law of official secrets is approved and the delay of the year and a half is not repeated in the publication of arms export statistics. The NGO also promotes an international campaign for being approved by being treated that prohibit autonomous weapons or murderous robots and the trade of torture instruments.