Resource Author: Ari Tolany

Anti-Personnel Landmines to Ukraine Violate International Law and Threaten Civilians

In response to the Biden administration’s decision last week to send anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine, Security Assistance Monitor (SAM) director Ari Tolany issued the following statement:

“The Biden administration’s decision to violate its own landmine policy by exporting anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine —a state party to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, popularly called the Ottawa Convention— is the latest action by the United States to undermine international law and global norms to protect non-combatants. The decision to send first cluster munitions and now anti-personnel landmines will have devastating impacts on civilians for decades to come, raising the risk of blast injury in large swaths of Ukraine, contaminating arable land, and eroding the efficacy of the Convention. 

The United States proudly advertises itself as the “world’s single largest financial supporter of steps to mitigate the harmful consequences of landmines.” Yet the United States cannot effectively engage in land clearance of explosive remnants of war and support mine victims while continuing to refuse to accede to the Ottawa Convention and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The continued stockpiling and transfer of anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions shows the Biden administration’s uneven and selective enforcement of both its own policies and the law.

Rather than using its last months in office to further undermine international norms, the Biden administration should take immediate steps to accede to the Ottawa Convention and join the Convention on Cluster Munitions. In accordance with those treaties, it should cease the transfer of anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions to all states, including both Ukraine and the Republic of Korea. It should also begin to destroy its own stockpiles of anti-personnel landmines and stop the manufacture of new cluster munitions. Arms control can be effective only when the world’s largest manufacturer of weapons upholds international law and applies its standards consistently to all parties, including allies, partners and itself.”

Security Dilemma – Ari Tolany on Arms Sales and Oversight

What kind of relationships does the United States build when it gives or sells arms to countries abroad is a big question, one that sits at the heart of day-to-day foreign policy. Ari Tolany, Director of CIP’s Security Assistance Technology, and the Arms Trade (SAM) program, recently went on the Security Dilemma podcast to talk about arms transfers, transparency, and what it means to attempt to build friendships through the promise of weapons.

Said Tolany:

“Basically we’re losing a lot of transparency and granularity in our reporting, and I know it seems wonky, and it seems technically, but fundamentally, the way that so many people engage with the United States is not with our soft power or the various aspects of American culture we like to think of as promoting a US brand around the world, it’s at the barrel of a gun. When we have less information about that, we are less able to conduct effective oversight or check-in on concerning issues around defense companies like graft and corruption.”

The episode, hosted by AJ Manuzzi and John Allen Gay of the John Quincy Adams Society, walks through popular arguments and counter-arguments to arms transparency, the way arms sales make the US a participant in the wars of partners and allies, and what happens when the US tries to tie arms sales to respect for human rights, without ever threatening to withhold sales should weapons be used to violate human rights.

Tolany also discusses the shallow fear that the US not selling a country arms means irreparably harming that country’s relationship with the United States. Says Tolany:

“The notion that arms transfers are a solid foundation for international partnership building is flawed. If a partner can just as easily turn to China and Russia, I would argue that arms transfers are only papering over a relationship that is fundamentally misaligned.” 

Listen to Ari Tolany on Arms Sales and Oversight at the Security Dilemma podcast.

Biden Administration Releases Military Aid to Egypt Despite Human Rights Concerns

In response to the Biden administration’s decision on Wednesday to release the full tranche of Foreign Military Financing (FMF) to Egypt despite ongoing human rights violations, Security Assistance Monitor (SAM) director Ari Tolany issued the following statement:

“The Biden administration’s decision to grant Egypt a staggering $1.3 billion in military aid with no human rights restrictions undermines the administration’s own human rights reporting, which found there has been ‘no significant change in the human rights situation in Egypt,’ and defies concerns rightly expressed by Senators Chris Van Hollen, Chris Murphy and their colleagues.

“Consistent gross violations of human rights remain widespread, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearance, and torture. The government’s broad refusal to investigate or prosecute reported human rights abuses makes remediation for victims impossible.

“Secretary Blinken reports that he is waiving the human rights conditions in the ‘national security interest,’ but using unrestricted taxpayer dollars to subsidize the brutal, autocratic el-Sisi regime doesn’t make Americans—or the world—safer. U.S. appeals to international order will continue ring hollow so long as the United States refuses to hold its allies, not just its rivals, accountable for violations of international law.”

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[Webinar] Unveiling Defense: Transparency and Accountability in Global Arms

As conflicts around the world multiply and arms exports continue to soar, OpenSecrets hosts a discussion of the state of transparency and accountability in the production, export and use of weapons manufactured in the United States and their use abroad. Our expert guests will help us understand holes in the reporting regime, the ramifications of lax public oversight, and highlight current legislation and proposals that would strengthen – or further erode – oversight.
June 25, 2024
1:00 PM EDT

Speakers

 

Ari Tolany

Director of the Security Assistance Monitor (SAM) Program, Center for International Policy

Previously, Ari was the U.S. Program Manager at Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) and the Herbert J. Scoville Peace Fellow at the Stimson Center’s South Asia Program. Ari is an expert with the Forum on the Arms Trade and received her BA in International Relations and MA and Middle Eastern Studies, both with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin.

 
Savannah Wooten

People Over Pentagon Advocate, Public Citizen

Savannah Wooten is the People Over Pentagon Advocate at Public Citizen, where she manages a coalition to reduce military spending and reinvest in urgent human needs priorities. She has a background in student organizing and atrocity prevention. Prior to her role at Public Citizen, she was a Program Associate at the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG) and the Student Director of STAND: The Student-Led Movement to End Mass Atrocities. She has a B.A. in Public Policy and Peace, War, and Defense from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

 
Elias Yousif

Research Analyst, Stimson Center Conventional Defense Program

Elias’s research focuses on the global arms trade and arms control, issues related to remote warfare and use of force, and international security cooperation and child soldiers prevention. Prior to joining the Stimson Center, Elias was the Deputy Director of the Security Assistance Monitor at the Center for International Policy where he analyzed the impact of U.S. arms transfer and security assistance programs on international security, U.S. foreign policy, and global human rights practices. Elias was previously a Campaigns and Research Officer with Crisis Action in Beirut, Lebanon, where he worked on advocacy and policy proposals to improve civilian protection, humanitarian access, and conflict resolution in Syria, Yemen, and South Sudan. He also worked with Crisis Action in Washington, D.C. as a Campaigns and Advocacy Associate, where he advised on U.S. policy related to civilian harm in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Elias received his BA from American University.

 
Moderator: Dan Auble

Senior Researcher, OpenSecrets

Dan is responsible for overseeing OpenSecrets’ databases tracking lobbying activity and the revolving door and directs the Foreign Lobby Watch program, launched in 2017. He joined OpenSecrets in 2004 and has specialized in monitoring political action committees and the personal finances of government officials. Dan graduated from the University of Delaware with degrees in political science and history.

2024 Arms Control Association Annual Meeting

The Center for International Policy is proud to participate in 2024 Arms Control Association Annual Meeting on Friday, June 7, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. 

This year’s conference will delve into some of the most pressing arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament challenges facing the nation and the world today.

CIP experts will speak on two separate panels, with Security Assistance Monitor director Ari Tolany presenting more effective U.S. arms transfer policy and senior non-resident fellow Negar Mortazavi on preventing further proliferation in the Middle East.

PANEL: Achieving More Effective Implementation of U.S. Arms Transfer Policy

  • John Ramming Chappell, Center for Civilians in Conflict
  • Ari Tolany, Center for International Policy
  • Mira K. Resnick, State Department
  • Moderator: Rachel Stohl, Stimson Center and member of the ACA Board

PANEL: Preventing Further Proliferation in the Middle East

  • Sharon Squassoni, Elliot School, George Washington University
  • Kelsey Davenport, Arms Control Association
  • Negar Mortazavi, Center for International Policy
  • Moderator: Arshad Mohammed, Reuters

You can find more information, including the full agenda, here.

The Biden Administration Cannot Avoid Scrutiny of Arms to Israel

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to reports that the Biden Administration sought to bypass congressional review and accompanying public scrutiny of massive arms transfers to Israel by dividing them into more than 100 smaller deliveries that individually fell under the threshold for mandatory notification to Congress under U.S. law, Ari Tolany, the Center for International Policy’s Security Assistance Monitor (SAM) director, issued the following statement:

“This doesn’t just seem like an attempt to avoid technical compliance with U.S. arms export law, it’s an extremely troubling way to avoid transparency and accountability on a high-profile issue.

“These arms laws and notification requirements exist precisely so that American lawmakers and taxpayers can evaluate the appropriateness of transferring U.S. weapons systems to a context like the devastating conflict in Gaza. Providing assistance to an active conflict should raise our standards of transparency and accountability, not diminish them. The fact that this glut of deadly arms has enabled massive civilian suffering in a bombardment that President Biden has himself called ‘indiscriminate,’ and that these transfers have continued despite the administration’s acknowledgement that Israel is blocking U.S. humanitarian aid, makes this move all the more disturbing.”

“Congress needs to step in immediately and demand a suspension in arms transfers to Israel until it can be sure such transfers can be conducted in full compliance with all relevant U.S. law – as well as our related obligations under international humanitarian law.”

CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING: US Arms Sale & India’s Human Rights Violations

On February 1, the Biden administration notified Congress of intent to sell to India 31 Armed MQ-9B Reaper Drones with accompanying munitions (Hellfire missiles, bombs), hardware and software tech, and personnel for training and maintenance. The proposed sale raises serious questions about the government of India’s possible use of these weapons in violation of human rights law or the laws of war. On a larger level, it raises questions about U.S. foreign policy on India, the trajectory of the US-India relationship, and the Biden administration’s strategies in dealing with the government of India.

These concerns are amplified by the Indian government’s increasingly worrying human rights record and the scope and gravity of new reporting on the deteriorating human rights situation in the country, including Human Rights Watch’s reporting on the worsening trend including its recent 2024 World Report review of India’s record, a recent report by the American Bar Association on the Indian government’s grave abuses of counter-terrorism laws (and Amnesty-Human Rights Watch joint reporting on the same issue), highly concerning new assessments on India by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a new and devastating report on India by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum elevating its warnings on risks of mass violence, and a new report by Amnesty International on targeted demolitions of Muslim properties in India.

Please join a briefing on the proposed sale, including discussion of opportunities for Congressional action to address it, by senior staff from Amnesty International, Hindus for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, and the Center for International Policy.

 

WHAT: US Arms Sale & India’s Human Rights Violations
WHEN: Wednesday, February 14, 2024 – 10:30 am EST
WHERE: 2043 Rayburn HOB, 45 Independence Ave SW Washington, DC
REGISTER: Click here to register

 

SPEAKERS:

Carolyn Nash — Asia Advocacy Director, Amnesty International

John Sifton — Asia Advocacy Director, Human Rights Watch

Ria Chakrabarty — Policy Director, Hindus for Human Rights

Ari Tolany — Director, Security Assistance Monitor, Center for International Policy

Co-organized by: Genocide Watch, World Without Genocide, Indian American Muslim Council, Hindus for Human Rights, Dalit Solidarity Forum, New York State Council of Churches, Justice for All, Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America, India Civil Watch International, Center for Pluralism, International Commission for Dalit Rights, American Muslim Institution, International Society for Peace and Justice, North American Manipur Tribal Association, and Association of Indian Muslims of America

Demystifying End-Use Monitoring in U.S. Arms Exports

The United States remains the world’s largest purveyor of arms, representing nearly 37% of global arms exports between 2015 and 2020. In 2020 alone, the U.S. government approved over $110 billion in arms sales to countries in every corner of the globe. Concerned about U.S. arms facilitating human rights violations, civilian harm in conflict, and corruption, U.S. lawmakers and advocates have long sought to create safeguards against the misuse of the billions in American weaponry shipped abroad every year. End-use monitoring (EUM)is intended to be the answer to those concerns and is aimed at satisfying statutory requirements for the U.S. government to provide assurances that American arms are not being misused, diverted, or otherwise violating the terms of their export. Unfortunately, the current EUM regime fails to address today’s concerns about the human impact of U.S. arms transfers. This brief is intended to give an overview of current EUM policies, dispel commonly held misconceptions of current EUM practice, and offer recommendations for how these regulations could be strengthened.