(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Norway has increased its arms exports to dictatorships that lead to aggressive foreign policy.
The Norwegian arms export rules stipulate that Norwegian exports of military equipment should not occur "to areas where there is war or war threatening, or to countries where there is civil war", in situations where the material can be used to "attack another state" or to states where the equipment can be used for "internal suppression".
Can you be sure that this is always followed up in practice? For example, could there be a danger that Norwegian-produced weapons will be used in the civil war in Syria?
The 30. In October, the Government presented the arms export statement, which gives an overview of the Norwegian exports of weapons and war materials in 2014. The report shows that in 2014 military equipment and services were exported for a total of 3,6 billion, of which 2,9 billion was the export of military equipment. Of this, exports of A-material – which is weapons and ammunition – amounted to NOK 2,3 billion. Exports of B-material amounted to NOK 645 million. B-material is military equipment that is not considered weapons or weapon parts, such as surveillance equipment or vehicles. In 2014, there was a decrease in total exports of about 15 per cent compared with the previous year. At the same time, however, Norwegian arms exports to Middle Eastern authoritarian states involved in the war in Yemen increased and sent weapons to armed insurgents in Syria.
Going astray? Norway does not sell weapons to Syria, nor to the Syrian government's supporters, Iran and Russia. But all of the states that send weapons to Syrian rebel groups are recipients of Norwegian military equipment. According to Pieter Wezemann of the Swedish Peace Research Institute SIPRI, it is impossible to get a secure overview of which states have exported weapons to rebels in Syria. "But the United States has openly stated that they support armed insurgent groups with weapons and training, and it has been reported repeatedly that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Turkey have provided insurgent groups with weapons," Wezemann points out.
In 2014, these countries received Norwegian B-material worth a total of NOK 48,5 million. In addition, the United States received A-material for 831 million, Turkey for 95,5 million and the Emirates for 40,2 million. Could any of this have been exported to armed rebels in Syria?
Several of the states in the Middle East that have received Norwegian war material are also dictatorships that oppress their own population.
We ask Amnesty International. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' reports only tell about product types that have been exported, but not specifically which products or from which companies," says Gerald Folkvord, political adviser in the organization, to Ny Tid. "Thus, we can usually only guess what the specific product was, and how likely it is that Norwegian material has been used in connection with violations of human rights or international humanitarian law."
According to Folkvord, countries that receive Norwegian military equipment – including NATO countries – should in theory not transfer this to a third country without Norway being informed. "But whether this is followed, we do not know," says Folkvord. "We also do not know what the Norwegian authorities are doing to check whether Norwegian equipment is used in violation of international law. Thus, it is also not easy to say how likely it is that Norwegian material has gone astray in Syria. "
When we ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the same question, communications manager Frode Andersen refers to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' guidelines for arms exports. These guidelines state that all countries must submit "documentation that proves the end user" in order to receive Norwegian weapons, and that countries outside NATO and the Nordic countries in addition to this must also submit a "government-certified end user declaration", where any re-export requires approval. from the Norwegian authorities.
Our allies in NATO and the Nordic countries are thus exempt from the requirement for an end-user declaration. Does this mean that our allies are free to re-export Norwegian weapons to other states that are not approved as recipients of Norwegian war material? "This is a comprehensive and complicated set of rules," is the answer from the Foreign Ministry's Frode Andersen. "Each export license is processed individually, so it is difficult to say anything very general."
Could Norwegian weapons have ended up in Syria?
"Exports of A-material to Qatar, Turkey and the USA are given on the basis of, among other things, end-user documentation. There is no information that Norwegian weapons have been re-exported to rebel groups in Syria, "says Andersen.
Gerald Folkvord says that Amnesty has no reason to suspect that there is a breach of the regulations. "We have no documentation that weapons or ammunition that have been exported from Norway with the approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been exported to third countries in violation of the agreement," he says. "It does not necessarily mean that it has not happened – it is unfortunately quite unlikely that this will be discovered in that case – but I can not say that we suspect anything."
Increased exports to dictatorships. Several of the states in the Middle East that have received Norwegian war material are also dictatorships that oppress their own population, and are directly involved in hostilities in Yemen. The youth organization Changemaker has compiled the figures for the export of munitions to the dictatorships of Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Their figures show that Norwegian exports of munitions to these countries have doubled in the last two years – from 12,6 million in 2012 to 56,6 million in 2014. In 2014, Qatar and Saudi Arabia received Norwegian B-equipment for 1,5, respectively. , 3,7 million and 40,2 million, while the Emirates received A-material for as much as 4,4 million, as well as B-material for 15,2 million. The Emirates received ammunition for XNUMX million, while Saudi Arabia received vehicles and electronic equipment. Leader of Changemaker Hanne Sofie Lindahl believes this is dramatic: "The increase is unsustainable, and testifies that we still have a major challenge related to control of our arms exports," she says in a statement on the organization's website.
"It is crucial that the Storting takes greater responsibility and stops the export of military equipment to dictatorships. It is not good that Saudi Arabia, which among other things has executed more than 100 people in the first half of 2015 alone, will receive Norwegian war material, "Lindahl believes.
Fredrik Heldal, leader of Norway's Peace League, also reacts to arms exports to dictatorships in the Middle East. "Saudi Arabia has been leading a coalition of countries that have waged a brutal bombing war against Yemen since March this year, and now also has troops on the ground inside Yemeni territory," Heldal said. "The report does not state exactly what kind of vehicles and electronic equipment have been exported, but it must be taken into account that this equipment may have been used as part of the warfare," he said. "The United Arab Emirates is part of the Saudi-led coalition that has been bombing Yemen for over seven months, and like Saudi Arabia has troops on the ground in Yemen. Depending on the details of the export, the ammunition sold by Norway may in other words have been used against targets in Yemen. "
Heldal also criticizes Norwegian arms exports to Thailand. In 2014, the Thai military overthrew the country's elected government in a coup, and there was an internal conflict in the three southern provinces where the country's security forces were guilty of torture and illegal executions. In the same year, Thailand received Norwegian A-material for NOK 11 million.
When we ask Frode Andersen from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs how this can be in line with the regulations for arms exports, he answers that "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejects applications for export to countries where there is civil war or where the material poses an unacceptable risk of use for internal repression."
It does not appear from the answer whether the situation in Thailand is not considered internal repression or whether Norwegian exports to Thailand cannot be used for oppressive purposes. When asked if Norwegian weapons may have been used in the war in Yemen, Andersen answers: "The ministry has no information that military equipment delivered from Norway has been used in Yemen." It is not clear from the answer whether the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has attempted to investigate this.
Storaker is a member of the International Committee in Red and a regular contributor to Ny Tid.
aslakstoraker@yahoo.no.
