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.
The French Justice Ministry has called for our 2021 investigation into France’s complicity in crimes committed by the Egyptian dictatorship to be “unpublished”. The investigatory chamber is expected to rule on 8 July whether the director of public prosecution should reopen the judicial inquiry which acknowledged that our revelations were in the public interest and exonerated reporter Ariane Lavrilleux, who finds herself yet again in the crosshairs of the French state.
One week after a ceasefire was signed by Israel and Hamas, Disclose can reveal that a consignment of equipment made by French company Sermat is to be shipped to Israel on 20 October. The parts are for drones designed by Elbit Systems, one of the Israeli armed forces’ main suppliers. This is the fourth such contract uncovered by Disclose between a French company and an Israeli military industry player since the war started in Gaza.
