Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Arms Exports: International Humanitarian Law

Thursday 15 April 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • UK rigorously assesses every arms export application on a case-by-case basis against established criteria.
  • Department considers international humanitarian law when licensing arms exports.
  • UK is one of the largest donors of aid globally, including to Yemen.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Kim Johnson Lab Liverpool Riverside
Foreign Affairs Business Compliance
Context

Concerns over UK arms exported being used in contravention of international humanitarian law.

Question

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that arms exported from the UK are not deployed in contravention of international humanitarian law?

Answer from Ranil Jayawardena

All arms exports require an export licence. We rigorously assess every application on a case-by-case basis against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria, taking advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence. We will not issue an export licence where to do so would be inconsistent with the consolidated criteria, including where there is a clear risk that the items might be used for a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

Answered
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Q2 Kim Johnson Lab Liverpool Riverside
Ukraine Foreign Affairs
Context

Yemeni community in Liverpool questioning the morality of increased arms sales while aid to Yemen is being reduced.

Question

The Yemeni community in Liverpool would like to know how the Minister can possibly justify the decision of his Department to increase its sales of bombs and missiles for use in Yemen to new record highs, while his friends at the Foreign Office are simultaneously cutting the amount of humanitarian aid going to starving Yemeni children. Does he accept that this is not just wrong, but downright immoral?

Answer from Ranil Jayawardena

Not only are Her Majesty's Government one of the biggest donors of aid around the world, including to Yemen, but as was set out in the Secretary of State's written statement, we have devised a clear and revised methodology to make sure we will only license such products if they are consistent with the consolidated criteria.

Partly answered

Not addressed: the moral justification for increased arms sales while reducing aid

How: Noting Aid Contributions But Avoiding Addressing The Moral Issue Directly

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