States love their secrets but we want the facts

All governments say they want to stop the flow of illicit arms, but listening to many of them at the UN today, it became clear that not many are willing to do anything about it.

This is because it will involve much greater transparency on how they report on arms transfers and this immediately makes governments uncomfortable.

Amnesty International’s findings show that the biggest source of illegal arms is through diversions from legal stockpiles and authorised trade. However, because current reporting by governments on imports, exports and arms transfers is so poor, it is near impossible to establish where and how deadly weapons are getting diverted.

So if States want to be able to find out how this is happening and put a stop to it, then they have to commit to greater overall transparency by reporting publicly. States can’t claim “confidentiality” due to security needs on the one hand and miraculously expect illegal arms transfers to stop on the other. It’s not a one way street.

But another reason Amnesty International wants to see public reporting on arms transfers in the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is so that people like us can actually see what our governments are doing – who are they giving arms to and are they taking enough care to ensure these arms don’t end up in the hands of human rights violators?

Read the rest of my piece on the Amnesty International USA website.

Open letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

Dear UNSG,



I read the testimony of a survivor of the Sri Lankan war that ended in May 2009. She said many things that moved me but I was struck by the fact that even in the tiny northern strip of Sri Lanka, far, far away from your headquarters in New York, she remembered and hoped that the UN would intervene to rescue her and her children.

UNSG Ban Ki-moon

That was a long time ago. The armed conflict ended in May 2009 and was decisively won by the Sri Lankan government forces. But where is the justice for the survivors?


From everything we know, including the report (leaked over the weekend) submitted to you by the UN panel of experts, there were serious war crimes committed by both sides in this conflict and an independent, international investigation is required. The Sri Lankan government is clearly not interested in accountability as it has already rubbished this report and did not allow the UN panel to visit the country.


As part of a community of people fighting for justice in Sri Lanka, I urge you to firstly, officially make public the report submitted to you by the UN panel.


I then urge you to follow up on the findings of the report as well as Amnesty International’s findings and to ensure that there is an independent, impartial investigation into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka. For the survivors of this conflict and in the interests of justice nothing less will do.

"For weeks my kids did not talk, they were so scared."

 (Photo Courtesy: AP)

Amnesty International interviewed a survivor of the conflict in Sri Lanka between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government’s armed forces. Vasuki (name changed) gives us a brief snapshot of what it was like living in the war zone trying to stay alive with 2 small children.

“In December 2008 I was living in Kilinochchi when my home came under aerial attack. We were displaced to Viswamadhu in Mullaitivu. The early days of displacement were not too difficult as Viswamadhu is an agricultural area. It was when we moved to PTK that we started to feel the pinch. We lived in a tent over a bunker. When there was no attack or shelling we could cook outside but when shelling was heavy we had to stay in the bunker for hours cooking and living there. For weeks my kids did not talk, they were so scared. They had to witness people dying from shell attacks and the memory of dead bodies lying all around will probably never vanish.

In March we had to move to Matalan in Mullivaikkal – this was crammed with tens of thousands of people. By now people had finished their supplies and eaten all they had, even their cattle. I had to fast so that I could feed my children and just drank the water I cooked the rice in. Elderly people collapsed around us or slipped into comas. I have to admit I tried to kill myself because I was so depressed but my daughters begged me not to give up. What kept us going was a belief that the UN would intervene to stop the terrible human suffering.

Shelling got steadily worse. Then on 15 May a huge explosion forced us to move towards Vella Mullivaikkal. I can’t describe the horror around us - we had to fight our way across a carpet of dead bodies. We finally made our way to Vatavahal bridge. Along the way the Army fired at us. 

I find it hard to talk about this time.... people were also not happy with the LTTE as they forcibly recruited from families. What I know is that people want to live in peace but we cannot forget all those we left behind. You can’t give us back what we lost but you can give us justice”.

If Vasuki’s story moves you please take action by signing a petition to call on the UN to open an independent investigation into war crimes committed by both sides.