$55M in Small Arms Sold By China to Sudan

China sold over $55 million worth of small arms to Sudan as the violence escalated in Darfur, a new Human Rights First report released today finds. While other countries were decreasing their arms sales to Khartoum, China stepped in to fill the void by providing Sudan with some 90 percent of its small arms during 2004-2006. This makes China the single largest provider of small arms to Sudan.

The new Human Rights First report—Investing in Tragedy: China’s Money, Arms and Politics in Sudan— ties China’s arms sales to Sudan to Beijing’s goal of protecting its controlling interest in the Sudanese oil industry. Released today as part of the launch of Human Rights First’s “Made in China” campaign, the report urges China to immediately halt its arms sales to Sudan in the lead up to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The group believes that the upcoming Olympics offer a unique and urgent opportunity to exert pressure on China to reverse its deadly course in Sudan.

“China has launched a PR campaign—a charm offensive—to convince the world it’s doing everything possible to stop the violence in Darfur, but the rhetoric simply doesn’t match the reality,” said Betsy Apple, director of the Crimes Against Humanity program at Human Rights First. “So long as it continues to sell massive quantities of small arms to Khartoum, the government of China has created a virtual supply line from the small arms factories in China to the Sudanese government-sponsored militias killing civilians in Darfur,” she said.

“A lethal cycle has developed where Sudan sells China large quantities of oil and then turns around and uses the income from its oil sales to purchase weapons from China. The people of Darfur suffer the consequences as the arms are turned against them, resulting in more death, displacement and destruction,” stated Apple.

As the report describes, the close relationship between China and Sudan is rooted in China’s dependence on Sudanese oil to fuel its own exponential economic growth. Sudan’s oil sales to China, in turn, have contributed substantially to Khartoum’s arms purchases. Observers on the ground in Darfur have reported seeing a range of Chinese weaponry, including grenade launchers and ammunition. Initially,

China denied it was selling weapons to Sudan following the passage of the Security Council arms embargo on Darfur. But China has been forced to admit its sales continued, although Beijing now claims its arms sales to Sudan are minor and do not end up in Darfur.

The report also puts forward a series of recommendations for concrete actions China could take to reverse its deadly course in Sudan and improve its international standing, as the Beijing Summer Olympics rapidly approach.


To read this report, go to Made in China: Stop Arm Sales to Sudan