A new report by the Control Arms Campaign says Uganda is one of the "sensitive" destinations for deadly weapons purchased though a scrappy arms trade framework. The report, Arms Without Borders, says globalisation of the arms industry had opened up loopholes in all current arms trade regulations, allowing sales to human rights abusers and countries under arms embargoes. "For example, armoured vehicles originally manufactured by Land Systems (OMC), a South Africa subsidiary of BAE Systems, have been exported to Uganda and Indonesia despite concerns that armoured vehicles have been used to commit or facilitate human rights violations in both countries...," the report says. "Furthermore, there are other huge costs associated with the arms trade. Government arms purchases can exceed legitimate security needs, diverting substantial amounts of money from health and education." Uganda’s rising defence expenditure, now at $198 million, has been blamed on the LRA rebellion and northern war, which has dragged on for nearly two decades. Read more at The Daily Monitor. In the coming weeks, Uganda-CAN will look more closely at the problem of deadly weapons in Uganda.