A collaborative investigation on the french arms trade.
A collaborative investigation on the french arms trade.
France is the third biggest exporter of arms in the world. Its arms trade, which is in principle prohibited, should be regulated by guarantees as to how its exported military equipment is used. In other words, France has an obligation to ensure that the arms it sends to foreign states are not used against civilians — a commitment enshrined in the 2008 European Common Position, and in the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). This treaty requires each signatory country, including France, to “not authorize any transfer of conventional arms … if it has knowledge at the time of authorization that the arms or items would be used in the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, attacks directed against civilian objects or civilians protected as such.”
The FrenchArms investigation, led by Lighthouse Reports, in cooperation with Disclose and with the support of Arte, Mediapart, Radio France, and Bellingcat, demonstrates that a number of arms sold by France to foreign countries were used in conflicts in which violations of international human rights law and war crimes have been extensively documented.
The French arms project is the culmination of a collaboration between more than a dozen journalists and intelligence experts. We carried out this investigation using “open source” techniques; our team rigorously analyzed satellite images, posts on social media, and official communications.
Arms giant Thales, in which the French state is a shareholder, has sold to the Burmese forces six radars used for monitoring its coast, Disclose and Info Birmanie can reveal. The surveillance systems, which were delivered between 2017 and 2020 in spite of an EU embargo, may be used to crack down on civilians, including the Muslim Rohingya minority who have been persecuted by the ruling junta.
A vast corruption network made it possible to exploit Interpol’s shortcomings in order to remove red notices against at least 28 alleged criminals. The former chairperson of Interpol’s oversight body – the Commission for the Control of Files (CCF) – and the organisation’s bureau in Moldova were at the heart of the system. Despite warnings, it has taken years for Interpol to respond, Disclose can reveal on the basis of exclusive documents.
