Right Hand, Left Hand

Sometimes the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.  A cliche that likes most cliches does, in fact, describe reality quite often.  The right hand in this post is the State Department's Human Rights Bureau.  The left hand is the State Department's Political-Military Affairs bureau.  The right hand says some countries violate human rights.  The left hand sells these countries arms which can help them in their efforts to violate human rights.

Here is a list of the countries to whom we supply weapons while castigating them for human rights abuses:

United Arab Emirates

Commercial arms authorized:

Total:	$2,465,144,471 (4th highest value out of 173 nations)
Types of weapons:	Missiles / rockets / torpedoes, firearms, toxicological agents (may have included tear gas and riot control agents)
Types of equipment:	Aircraft and equipment, ammunition

Human rights problems

“Three core human rights issues continue to be of concern: citizens’ inability to change their government; limitations on citizens’ civil liberties (including the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and association); and lack of judicial independence … political parties are not permitted. The government continued to interfere with privacy and to restrict civil liberties, including usage of the Internet.”
“Political organizations, political parties, and trade unions are illegal.”
The government does not provide equal rights for women and foreign workers. UAE courts reserve the option of imposing flogging as punishment for adultery, prostitution, consensual premarital sex, pregnancy outside marriage, defamation of character, and drug or alcohol abuse.

Qatar

Commercial arms authorized:

Total:	$1,792,415,581 (8th)
Types of weapons:	Explosives, missiles / rockets / torpedoes
Types of equipment:	Military electronics, aircraft and equipment, ammunition

Human rights problems

“The constitution provides for, but strictly regulates, freedom of assembly. Organizers must meet a number of restrictions and conditions to acquire a permit for a public meeting. For example, the Director General of Public Security at the Ministry of Interior must give permission for a meeting, a decision which is subject to appeal to the minister of interior, who has the final decision.”
“The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press in accordance with the law, but the government limited these rights in practice … The law provides for restrictive procedures on the establishment of newspapers, closure, and confiscation of assets of a publication. It also criminalizes libel and slander, including injury to dignity. All print media were owned by members of the ruling family or proprietors who enjoyed close ties to government officials. There were no independent broadcast media, and state-owned television and radio reflected government views … In at least one case, the authorities contacted a reporter with a warning after the reporter published an article critical of the government.” There is no law criminalizing domestic violence or spousal rape.

Israel

Commercial arms authorized:

Total:	$1,462,319,370 (10th)
Types of weapons:	Firearms, toxicological agents (may have included tear gas and riot control agents), missiles / rockets / torpedoes
Types of equipment:	Armored vehicles, aircraft and equipment, ammunition

Human rights problems

“The most significant human rights issues during the year were terrorist attacks against civilians; institutional and societal discrimination against Arab citizens—in particular issues of access to housing and employment opportunities; and societal discrimination and domestic violence against women.”
“NGOs continued to criticize … detention practices they termed abusive, including isolation, sleep deprivation, and psychological abuse, such as threats to interrogate family members or demolish family homes.”

 

Djibouti

Commercial arms authorized:

Total:	$1,396,999,702 (12th)
Types of weapons:	Heavy guns / armament, missiles / rockets / torpedoes
Types of equipment:	Military electronics, cameras / auxiliary equipment, ammunition

Human rights problems

“The most serious human rights problem in the country was the government’s abridgement of the right of citizens to change or significantly influence their government; it did so by harassing, abusing, and detaining government critics and by its unwillingness to permit the population access to independent sources of information within the country.”
“Numerous persons were detained for political reasons during the months leading up to the election and released afterwards. For example, the government charged eight men—including human rights activist Jean Paul Noel Abdi—with conspiring against the state. The prisoners were permitted legal representation and were allowed to meet with their attorneys before trial. Noel Abdi was released two weeks later. The remaining prisoners were detained for two months and released shortly after the election.”
“Although the constitution provides for freedom of assembly, the government severely restricted this right. The Interior Ministry requires permits for peaceful assemblies and denied such permits to opposition groups during the election campaign.”

Honduras

Commercial arms authorized:

Total:	$1,390,675,958 (13th)
Types of weapons:	Firearms
Types of equipment:	Aircraft and equipment, fire-control systems, guided missile tracking equipment

Human rights problems

“Among the most serious human rights problems were corruption within the national police force, institutional weakness of the judiciary, and discrimination and violence against vulnerable populations. Police and government agents committed unlawful killings. Vigilantes and former members of the security forces carried out arbitrary and summary killings … Although the constitution and law prohibit such practices, there were instances in which the police and military employed them, including police beatings and other abuse of detainees.”
“On December 7, unknown gunmen on a motorcycle shot and killed former senior government adviser for security Alfredo Landaverde. In the weeks preceding his death, Landaverde had publicly called for cleaning up the National Police and alleged that its leadership was linked to organized crime. An investigation into his death continued at year’s end.”
“During the year confrontations over a long-standing land dispute between owners of African palm plantations and rural field workers in the Aguan Valley, Colon Department, resulted in the deaths of or injuries to approximately 55 persons, including field hands, private security guards, security force members, one judge, and bystanders. At year’s end responsibility for all but two of these deaths had not been established. Human rights groups alleged that police, soldiers, and private security guards used disproportionate force against the protesting workers.”

Saudi Arabia

Commercial arms authorized:

Total:	$877,678,790 (16th)
Types of weapons:	Firearms, toxicological agents (may have included tear gas and riot control agents), heavy guns / armament, explosives, missiles / rockets / torpedoes
Types of equipment:	Armored vehicles, aircraft and equipment, guided missile systems

Human rights problems

“The most important human rights problems reported included citizens’ lack of the right and legal means to change their government; pervasive restrictions on universal rights such as freedom of expression, including on the Internet, and freedom of assembly, association, movement, and religion; and a lack of equal rights for women and children, as well as for workers.”
“ … on July 27, security officials reportedly took a prominent human rights activist, Mekhlef bin Daham al-Shammary, from his prison cell at the Damman General Prison to a room where there were no surveillance cameras and severely beat him. A guard then allegedly poured an antiseptic cleaning liquid down al-Shammary’s throat, resulting in his being taken to a hospital.”
“There were reports that at least two of a group of 16 men found guilty of security-related offenses were tortured in the period between their arrest in 2007 and their conviction on November 22. Among them, according to the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Amnesty International (AI), was Suliman al-Reshoudi, a 73-year-old former judge, who was subjected in prison to “severe physical and psychological tortures,” including more than three years of solitary confinement. One of the detainees was allegedly beaten on at least seven occasions with metal sticks and received electric shocks. Saud al-Hashimi was reportedly abused by being placed for five hours in a severely cold cell and forced to confess, among other acts, to contacting Al-Jazeera television station and to collecting money without the permission of the ruler.”

Kuwait

Commercial arms authorized:

Total:	$693,691,173 (19th)
Types of weapons:	Firearms, toxicological agents (may have included tear gas and riot control agents), heavy guns / armament, missiles / rockets / torpedoes
Types of equipment:	Armored vehicles, aircraft and equipment

Human rights problems

“… there were reports that some police and members of the security forces abused detainees during the year. Police and security forces were more likely to inflict such abuse on noncitizens, particularly non-Gulf Arabs and Asians. Security forces reportedly detained, harassed, and sexually abused transgender persons.”
“The government restricted freedom of speech, particularly in instances purportedly related to national security. The law also specifically prohibits material insulting Islam, the emir, the constitution, or the neutrality of the courts or Public Prosecutor’s Office. The law mandates jail terms for anyone who “defames religion,” and any Muslim citizen may file criminal charges against a person the citizen believes has defamed Islam, the ruling family, or public morals.”
“In December 2010 authorities shut the local offices of the Al Jazeera television network and withdrew its accreditation after it broadcast footage of police using force to break up an unauthorized gathering of oppositionists and subsequently gave airtime to opposition parliamentarians who strongly criticized the government for the police actions.”

Algeria

Commercial arms authorized:

Total:	$406,056,112 (20th)
Types of weapons:	Firearms, heavy guns / armament, explosives, toxicological agents (may have included tear gas and riot control agents)
Types of equipment:	Armored vehicles, aircraft and equipment

Human rights problems

“There were reports of dozens of individuals detained for political reasons, including peaceful assembly in Algiers. In virtually all of the instances, police detained activists participating in protests or marches and held them either in the backs of riot trucks on site or transported them to nearby police precincts. Police released the activists without charges once the protests had subsided … Other human rights concerns were reports of unlawful killings, overuse of pretrial detention, poor prison conditions, abuse of prisoners, and lack of judicial independence.”
“Every Saturday from February 12 to late April, government security forces prevented protesters with the political opposition group National Coordination for Change and Democracy (CNCD) from staging a march in Algiers. On several occasions, CNCD organizers submitted paperwork to local officials requesting permission to march, but the requests were denied on security grounds. In some cases police arrested protesters and injured some of them as a result of participation in unsanctioned protests.”
“Between 3,000 and 5,000 university students on April 12 staged the first successful public march in Algiers since 2001, despite police efforts to prevent it. Students were largely nonviolent, but there were approximately 100 injuries.”
“Radio and television were government-owned and frequently broadcasted coverage favorable to the government. Sources maintained that broadcast media did not grant sufficient access to opposition parties and critical NGOs. During nonelection periods opposition parties and spokesmen regularly were denied access to public radio or television.”

Peru

Commercial arms authorized:

Total:	$404,325,333 (21st)
Types of weapons:	Firearms, heavy guns / armament, toxicological agents (may have included tear gas and riot control agents)
Types of equipment:	Armored vehicles, aircraft and equipment

Human rights problems

“The following human rights problems …were reported: killings by security forces of protesters during demonstrations, harsh prison conditions, abuse of detainees and inmates by prison security forces, lengthy pretrial detention and inordinate trial delays, intimidation of the media, incomplete registration of internally displaced persons, and discrimination against women.”
“Allegations of abuse most often arose immediately following an arrest, when families were prohibited from visiting suspects and when attorneys had limited access to detainees. In some cases police and security forces threatened or harassed victims, relatives, and witnesses to prevent them from filing charges of human rights violations.”

Bahrain

Commercial arms authorized:

Total:	$280,373,829 (28th)
Types of weapons:	Firearms, heavy guns / armament
Types of equipment:	Ammunition, aircraft and equipment, military electronics

Human rights problems

“On several occasions government forces used unnecessary and disproportionate force to disperse protesters … the government used excessive force on February 17 when it used tear gas, shotguns, batons, sound bombs, and rubber bullets to disperse protesters from the GCC/Pearl Roundabout. Approximately 1,000 MOI [Ministry of Interior] personnel entered the GCC/Pearl Roundabout at 3 a.m. to disperse camping protesters. Personnel from the BNSA, CID, and BDF Intelligence were also on site. Security forces fired numerous rounds of tear gas to disperse protesters and engaged protesters directly. The MOI indicated that a number of protesters assaulted police officers with rocks, sticks, metal rods, swords, knives, and other sharp objects. As a result, more than 40 officers sustained injuries, including severe cuts to limbs. The clearing operation and subsequent clashes between security personnel and protesters led to the deaths of four individuals from shotgun wounds and injuries to 50 protesters. Soon after the police crackdown, BDF tanks occupied the GCC/Pearl Roundabout to stop demonstrators from occupying the area. On February 19, security forces withdrew from the GCC/Pearl Roundabout, allowing demonstrators to retake control of the area.”
“[In prisons] Many reports followed a similar pattern of abuse: arbitrary arrest, beating without interrogation, beating with interrogation, harassment and intimidation without further physical abuse, and then release of the detainee after any visible wounds or signs of mistreatment had healed.”