By: Jonas Lindberg, Camilla Orjuela, Siemon Wezerman, Linda Åkerström (2011)
This report is produced by the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society and the Swedish Sri Lanka Committee.
The report analyses the role of global arms trade in civil wars, focusing specifically on Sri Lanka. The war between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was one of the world’s most violent and long-lasting armed conflicts. An estimated 84 000 people lost their lives, while hundreds of thousands were displaced. Severe human rights abuses accompanied the armed conflict, which started in 1983 and ended with a government military victory over the LTTE in 2009 – a victory that, however, did not end the underlying conflicts that had caused the war.
This in-depth study of arms supplies to Sri Lanka aims to contribute to the debate about arms trade and a potential international treaty. The report illustrates the workings of the global arms trade and the limitations of current arms trade regulations, while also connecting the arms deals to its real consequences in armed conflict. The report shows how the arms trade was part of and has affected both the conflict and conflict resolution attempts in Sri Lanka.
It looks at the human suffering and economic consequences of the war, investigates from where the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE obtained their weapons and, finally, identifies the gaps between arms trade regulations and the rhetoric by international actors, on the one hand, and the practices of arms trade on the other.
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