Following the UK Government’s revival of the Committees on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) and the recent election of Chris White MP as its new Chair, UNA-UK has joined forces with other members of the UK Working Group on Arms (UKWG) to make recommendations designed to improve the CAEC's scrutiny of UK arms exports.
The CAEC is a coalition of four parliamentary committees that provides vital scrutiny of the Government's licensing of arms exports. The CAEC’s ten-month hiatus after the 2015 General Election has seen the UK supply export licenses for close to £3 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia.
In a letter welcoming Mr White to his new post, the UKWG has proposed several changes to ensure greater productivity of the newly-formed CAEC whilst expressing serious concerns over UK arms transfers to Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia is currently leading a coalition of states intervening in the conflict in Yemen which, as stated in the letter, has resulted in “over 8,100 civilian casualties – including 2,800 deaths – since the conflict began in March 2015”. The UKWG is calling on the CAEC to scrutinise exports to Saudi Arabia and other parties to the conflict as a matter of urgency and to establish the end-use of these weapons.
EU member states which are transferring arms to Saudi Arabia without establishing the end-use of these weapons could be in breach of both the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and the EU Common Position on arms exports control. A statement released by the UN follows Ban Ki-moon’s request that state parties to the Treaty, such as the UK, lead by example, stand by their international obligations including the ATT which obliges states not to transfer arms that may be used in violation of international humanitarian law or international human rights law.
UNA-UK and a number of other organisations have also signed a letter by Control Arms to the European Parliament, commending them for bringing to light these potential breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law. UNA-UK fully supports the European Parliament’s call for “a fully independent investigation into all allegations of abuse, torture, targeted killing of civilians and other violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law”.
A vote on the European Parliament’s proposed resolution on the humanitarian situation in Yemen and on an EU-wide arms embargo will be held on 25 February 2016.
Click here to read the UKWG’s letter to Chris White MP, Chair of CAEC
Click here to read Control Arms’ letter to the European Parliament#
Photo: The city of Sa'ada in the Sa'ada Governorate has been heavily hit by airstrikes in the first four months of the escalation of conflict in Yemen. Credit: OCHA / Philippe Kropf
