LONDON: Western governments are undermining their “war on terror” and their claims to want to end armed conflict by supplying massive amounts of weapons to developing countries, says an Amnesty International report.

The human rights organization points out that international terrorism and promoting stability in Africa are high on the agenda of the forthcoming Group of Eight meeting, yet says that G8 countries have been supplying more than 29 billion dollars worth of arms a year to developing nations.

The US, the world’s largest arms trader, exported more than 14 billion dollars worth of military equipment to developing countries in 2000.

Britain exports 600 million dollars worth of arms to Africa a year and a total of 1.5 billion dollars to developing countries across the world.

Russia is increasing its exports of Kalashnikov rifles to African countries, including Zimbabwe. It has supplied tanks, attack helicopters and armed personnel carriers to Sudan.

UK law allows British pilots and air cargo companies to traffic arms to forces responsible for human rights violations, for example in the Democratic Republic of Congo, so long as the weapons are collected and routed outside Britain.

The export control bill, which was scheduled to be debated in the House of Commons shortly, will not end these practices. Human rights and aid groups, including Oxfam, are pressing MPs to strengthen the bill and maintain a clause introduced by the House of Lords which states that the government must consider the implications for “sustainable” development before agreeing to arms exports.

Kate Allen, Amnesty International’s UK director, says: “G8’s proliferating trade in arms and military aid undermines fundamental human rights and sustainable development.”

Amnesty is calling on G8 leaders to sign an undertaking not to allow any arms transfers where there is a clear risk that the weapons will be used to commit grave human rights abuses, war crimes or crimes against humanity.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service.