Arms manufacturers in Wallonia are committing "serious violations" by exporting to countries with a known track record for using arms against civilians.
In the seventh edition of the Observatory of Walloon Arms report, Amnesty International, the League of Human Rights, Vredesactie and the Coordination Nationale d'Action pour la Paix et la Démocratie have collectively condemned "serious violations" perpetrated by arms manufacturers in Wallonia.
Companies such as FN Herstal have knowingly exported arms to countries where human rights are violated and international laws breached, they say. The report calls on the Walloon government to end these harmful practices.
"Over the past 12 months, on almost every continent, Walloon arms have found their way into hands that should never have got hold of them, due to the irresponsibility of the regional authorities."
'Problematic exports'
FN Herstal, for instance, sold machine guns fitted to helicopters and planes to the Nigerian army despite well-documented attacks on civilians by the latter. The company also sold machine guns to military police in São Paulo (Brazil), despite these forces killing 30 people in July 2023.
"The risk of these weapons being used against civilians is obvious," the report stated. "The abuses committed by the Nigerian army and the practices of the São Paulo military police have been known for years; the Walloon Government should never have given its assent to such transfers."
The report also decries the continued sale of explosive substances to Israel months into the bombardment of the Gaza Strip. A temporary suspension of this export was applied on 5 February.
An FN Herstal factory in Belgium. Credit: Belga / Michel Krakowski
These issues could be addressed through greater governmental transparency, the report argued. Just as Wallonia has formed a new government, signatories call on the current mandate to avoid granting export licenses unless it is certain that arms will not be sold to countries with a track record of human rights violations.
They also demand more regular government reports on arms exports, as well as the provision of more precise information in these reports.
