Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #EUarms

Most recents (8)

🚨70 years after the UN 1951 Refugee Convention was adopted, Europe now looks to profit from the displaced. Our new research reveals how the highly lucrative arms trade is fuelling displacement and migration.
👉Read the full report: tni.org/smokingguns
While the 1951 Convention set out to protect refugees, 70 years later they are being left to drown at sea. Using #OSINT we joined the dots between arms exports and displacement in five case studies, showing how #EUarms were instrumental in provoking forced displacement. Image
Case Study I: Italy exported T-129 helicopter components and production capacity to Turkey that were used in Northern Syria in 2018 and 2019, contributing to the displacement of 278,000 people. Image
Read 8 tweets
This shield used by US police to strike this @Channel7 journalist in Washington on June 1 was made in the UK.

This is a 🧵 on the visual forensics on just one of the cases from our #EUArms UK project with @LHreports, @bellingcat, @SkyNews & @guardian 👇
The same shield with the police print can be seen being used against protestors on that same day in Washington.
That same branding and design can be seen on this image of Donald Trump walking past police in Lafayette Park on June 1, 2020.
Read 13 tweets
THREAD: How is one of Europe's most famous companies helping Turkey sustaining an airbridge between Turkey and Libya, despite a UN arms embargo? #A400M #EUarms #Airbus
We analysed flight radar data and confirmed at least 11 flights with Turkish’ A400Ms between Turkey and Libya in the period between June 24 and August 21.
France, Germany & Italy are threatening sanctions against those violating the UN embargo for Libya. But #Airbus is providing critical services to the Turkish A400M fleet, enabling it to likely breach that same embargo.
Read 6 tweets
Italian arms have been sold to Russia, transported to Syria, & used by sanctioned Syrian Army militia breaching European trade & arms safeguards.

After 12 months of digging w/ @leone_hadavi, @Bashar24836440, we show how they got to places like this 👇👇
bellingcat.com/news/2019/12/2…
First, what about the rules on arms control in Europe? Italy must observe the Common Position (eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/…) & consider human rights when granting an export license. Plus there’s an arms embargo on dealing with Russia (europa.eu/newsroom/highl…) ImageImageImage
We cross-referenced Italian Govt records on export licences to reveal items granted for sale, transaction value & end-user country. For example we can see this 2011 lic. for sale of 10 Iveco M65E19WMs paid for & exported to Russia. Big H/T to @FrancescaCost2 for her skills here. ImageImageImage
Read 13 tweets
Where do #FrenchArms end up? After 10 days of coffee, poor Wi-Fi & lots of croissants at our recent #EUArms workshop, we found a number of French export licences granted providing arms used in areas with ongoing human rights abuses such as #Yemen, #WesternSahara & #Cameroon 👇 Image
The record above is @SIPRIorg entry for 23 Bastions by French co ACMAT (subsid of Arquus) to Cameroon. We located the Bastions to Salak: goo.gl/maps/6PB8r7oar… (IMG from: 31.10.2017) in front of the torture house documented by @amnesty & @ForensicArchi ImageImage
This is a snippet of our #FrenchArms findings from the 10-day project. @Disclose_ngo has ENGL reports here: disclose.ngo/en/article/fre…. Big H/T to the w/ @ARTEjournal @bellingcat @Mediapart @LHreports @InvestigationRF. Check out #WesternSahara findings here
Read 4 tweets
Arms manufactured in #Belgium are used by dictator governments and criminal organisations worldwide. While the govt has halted or banned sale to these countries, our @bellingcat & @LHreports research will show how manufacturers make a buck out of a bad bang.
FN Herstal is a popular Belgium manufacturer, but our open source research shows that some of their weapon systems have been granted the sale to be used in controversial conflicts. One of those is the Yemen intervention, where it is used by Saudi Arabia. #EUArms #BelgianArms
UK was warned by human rights bodies (@Amnesty: amnesty.org/en/latest/news…) to stop sending arms to Saudi Arabia, yet Belgium has sent millions of Euros worth of arms to Saudi which are used in Yemen conflict. @amnestybe also warned this: amnesty.org/en/latest/news… #EUArms #BelgianArms
Read 16 tweets
Report from #EUArms project shows despite laws prohibiting export of weapons to countries guilty of human rights abuses, Italian govt continued to allow sale of shotgun parts to #Bahrain used to lethally suppress protestors @LHreports @bellingcat 📽️: 👇/1
The law states a clear prohibition of exports of military goods to countries "whose governments are responsible of serious violations of international conventions on human rights verified by competent organisations of the UN or EU Council". /2
We analysed hours of footage of the 2015 protests in #Bahrain to identify where the violations were taking place, when it happened, who was doing it, and what weapons they used. /3
Read 9 tweets
In Jan 2018, Turkish forces launched Op Olive Branch in #Afrin which saw indiscriminate attacks killing "scores of civilians" & leaving more than 160K IDPs. In this open source case, we found a component of the offensive was Italian-made T129 ATAK helis. #ItalianArms Thread 👇
We investigated hours of video content to analyse the destructive use of the Italian T129 in #Syria's Afrin. Here @thomassmulder geolocated this video () - goo.gl/maps/K7nraY94K… 2/ ImageImage
This T129 firing in #Syria's #Afrin was part of an offensive which saw "vulnerable civilians facing displacement and death because of the way Turkey’s latest offensive is being conducted" - one which #Turkey's President Erdoğan declared 'a siege' that 'would cut external aid' 3/
Read 13 tweets

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