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It's been **700 DAYS** since the @CommonsCAEC committee published a report.
That's a very long time!
@Tobias_Ellwood, @TomTugendhat, @AngusMacNeilSNP, @SarahChampionMP maybe time to check-in & see what deadly weapons the UK has been exporting in the last few yrs?
That's a very long time!
@Tobias_Ellwood, @TomTugendhat, @AngusMacNeilSNP, @SarahChampionMP maybe time to check-in & see what deadly weapons the UK has been exporting in the last few yrs?
. @CommonsCAEC is a conglomerate of 4 committees: Defence; Foreign Affairs; Int. Dev; and Int. Trade. It dissolved with Parliament on 6 Nov & has yet to be re-established in current parliament **DESPITE** its 4 constituent committees all managing to work around COVID disruptions.
...altho...not sure how effective @CommonsCAEC has been in recent yrs when it DOES happen to be up & running:
392 days since last meeting
504 days since last *quorate* meeting
700 days since publishing a report
Fairly sure these are right - workings attached ;-)
392 days since last meeting 504 days since last *quorate* meeting 700 days since publishing a report Fairly sure these are right - workings attached ;-)
The one & only report published in yrs (released almost 24 months ago) scrutinised export licences for 2016...so add 18 months to this for a grand total of almost THREE AND A HALF YEARS for the most recent window of export licences formally scrutinised by UK parliament...
In the meantime...where to begin(!)...lets go for some lowlights from the last 12 months:
Sept 2019 - The Secretary of State for Int Trade admits 3 breeches of Appeal Court order banning sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/26/truss-admits-uk-breached-court-order-banning-arm-sales-to-saudis-again
Sept 2019 - The Secretary of State for Int Trade admits 3 breeches of Appeal Court order banning sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/26/truss-admits-uk-breached-court-order-banning-arm-sales-to-saudis-again
Bigger picture here is that since the Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen 5+ yrs ago killing thousands of civilians and creating a humanitarian catastrophe,
the UK has licensed over £6 billion worth of arms to members of that coalition (mainly Saudi Arabia)
March 2020 - While schools close, arms production identified as “essential service” with some contractors given key worker status. Processing applications for strategic export licences identified as business-critical operation https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-to-exporters-202008-coronavirus-covid-19-export-licence-handling/notice-to-exporters-202008-coronavirus-covid-19-export-licence-handling
June 2020: Amnesty call on UK to "review exports of security equipment to US police forces" given the risk of misuse of UK manufactured equipment against Black Lives Matter protesters: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/usa-protests-uk-should-review-exports-security-equipment-us-police-forces
June 2020: Report by @declassifiedUK reveals that "GCHQ, the UK’s largest intelligence agency, is secretively promoting arms companies involved in war crimes to British school children, apparently without the informed consent of parents" Source: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-06-03-revealed-harry-potter-british-spies-and-the-arms-corporations-penetrating-uk-schools/
None of the above criticisms are in any way meant as a reflection of the part time staff that have worked on the CAEC who have always in my experience been very dedicated and effective professionals (and overworked across multiple committees).
The CAEC has suffered from a lack of resources and clout, partly due to its nebulous status (as opposed to that of a stand-alone select committee) but also political leadership from some former CAEC members has been severely lacking.
PLLLLLEEEAASE @UKParliament start taking arms export licensing deadly serious and get a proper scrutiny committee up and running URGENTLY
(Also, PLLLLEASE don't let the @DFID_UK / @foreignoffice merger fiasco delay the urgent set-up of an arms export scrutiny body)
