Crimes against humanity in Yemen is France an accomplice ?

Action Sécurité Ethique Républicaines (ASER) launches the report: « CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN YEMEN Legal assessment of the violations of international law committed by the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates » and underlines: « the repetitive and systematic aspect of the serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law ». 
 
The report shows how the countries of the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – including Egypt, whose President Al Sissi was received in Paris – have continued to target civilians and civilian objects since March 2015 despite repeated calls from the UN Security Council, reports from their experts and numerous NGOs and parliamentarians around the world. This report justifies as calling this war a crime against humanity and raises the question of the French government’s complicity through its arms sales.
 
The repeated statements of the UN humanitarian agencies on the dramatic situation that sees 80% of the population in urgent need of humanitarian aid, with more than 230,000 deaths according to the UNDP report, including more than 140,000 children by the end of 2019, has visibly changed nothing in the coalition’s rules of engagement:
 
« The fact that precision weapons were used during the coalition’s air raids indicates that the deaths of civilians and the resulting destruction of civilian property were not due to simple negligence due to a lack of precaution, but were indeed intentional.”
 
This report reinforces ASER’s request before the Council of State^[1], which calls for the immediate suspension of arms transfers from the French government to all countries of the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and which includes Egypt and which violates its international commitments including Article 6 of the UN Arms Trade Treaty.
 
Our request was admitted to the Council of State last October.
 
 
ASER is a member of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA). ASER is accredited to the United Nations.


^[1] l’Action des Chrétiens pour l’abolition de la Torture (ACAT), Action Contre la Faim (ACF), Médecin du monde (MDM) Salam4Yemen, SHERPA et STOPFUELINGWAR

OPEN LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU

We are publishing this letter from the women Nobel Peace Prize laureates to Prime Minister Trudeau, adding that the suspension of arms sales to these countries, including France, means respecting the arms trade treaty and their international commitments.

SIX NOBEL PEACE LAUREATES CALL ON PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU TO REINSTATE BAN ON MILITARY EXPORTS TO SAUDI ARABIA

The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P.
Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister 80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2 

1 May 2020

Dear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,

As Nobel Peace laureates, we are deeply concerned by Canada lifting its moratorium on military exports to Saudi Arabia. Although we applaud Canada’s recent decision to extend, indefinitely, its ban on new arms exports to Turkey, a similar ban must remain in place for Saudi Arabia.

On April 8, Saudi Arabia declared a two-week ceasefire in Yemen. The next day, in the midst of a global pandemic and as Yemen announced its first COVID-19 case, Canada announced it would lift its military equipment ban to Riyadh—and resume exports of light-armoured vehicles to Saudia Arabia. This contradicts your government’s support of the UN Secretary General’s appeal for a global ceasefire.

Your government had, rightfully, suspended the sale of military equipment to Saudi Arabia following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Unfortunately, the human rights situation inside Saudi Arabia has not changed.

Saudi-Arabia holds one of the worst human rights records in the world. It is also a leading player in the protracted conflict in Yemen, which has resulted in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Thousands of civilians have been killed and injured, and tens of millions of people experience food insecurity and are on the brink of famine.

We strongly believe that instead of arming Saudia Arabia, Canada should focus on the ceasefire and its very narrow window for peace, by investing resources and diplomatic expertise in an inclusive process to bring relief and lasting peace to Yemen.

Resuming arms sales during a global pandemic—or at any time—does not reflect positively on Canada’s feminist leadership. On the contrary, it further endangers ordinary civilians inside Saudi Arabia and Yemen, in particular, women.

We call on Canada to live up to its own commitment to “put armed conflict on lockdown” by:

• Re-instating, immediately, the freeze on all military exports to Saudi Arabia and put an end to the arms deal.
• Calling on all warring parties to abide by the UN call for a global ceasefire.
• Ensuring the safety of women calling for peace.
• Working to keep peace processes alive and build peace during this global pandemic.

 

Canada cannot call itself a global leader for peace while simultaneously supplying weapons of war.

Sincerely,

Tawakkol Karman, Nobel Peace Laureate (2011) – Yemen
Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Laureate (2003) – Iran
Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Laureate (2011) – Liberia
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate, (1976) – Northern Ireland
Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Nobel Peace Laureate (1992) – Guatemala
Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Laureate (1997) – USA

Actions juridiques

ACTION SECURITE ETHIQUE REPUBLICAINES introduces an urgent procedure to stop the sale of French weapons involved in war crimes in Yemen

PRESS RELEASE

Today, May 6, 2019, ACTION SECURITE ETHIQUE REPUBLICAINES (ASER) filed for interim relief in its appeal before the Paris Administrative Court. ASER calls for the suspension of arms transfers to the countries of the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, responsible for war crimes, or even crimes against humanity, in Yemen.

The recent publication by the independent media Disclose, which proves that the French government was aware of the use in Yemen of French weapons sold to the coalition, persuaded us of the urgency of this referral.

The Minister of the Armed Forces continued to deny the facts before the Senate on April 30, justifying the continuation of arms sales to fight Al Qaeda.  We remind Florence Parly that ASER has informed the Presidency since 2016 that the war has strengthened Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in particular. The repeated refusal to set up a parliamentary committee of inquiry strengthens our legal approach for ASER.

This urgency is also confirmed by the worsening humanitarian situation in Yemen. A report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimates the number of deaths at more than 230,000 by the end of 2019, including more than 140,000 children under the age of 5 if the conflict continues with such intensity.

It is also on the basis of this latest information that the US Senate voted, on Thursday, May 2, for the 3rd time against his government’s military support for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates by 53 votes in favour and 45 against. This is despite President Trump’s announcement that the United States is withdrawing from the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).

ASER has special ECOSOC consultative status at the United Nations

ASER is an IANSA member

Contacts : http://aser-asso.org

For interview requests or participation in a program on the issue of weapons/ human rights : Benoît Muracciole : +337 72 33 40 45

French arms sales: the government’s repeated lies in its involvement in the war in Yemen

Today Disclose independent media provided evidence that the French government was informed of the use in Yemen of French weapons sold to the coalition: Leclerc tanks, arrow shells, Mirage 2000-9, Cobra radar, Aravis tanks, A330 MRTT tankers, Cougar and Dauphin helicopters, Caesar cannons…

ASER reserves the right to introduce an emergency procedure as part of its appeal pending before the Paris Administrative Court.

ASER welcomes the growing interest of the French media in the serious humanitarian crisis in Yemen. However, we regret that the media do not address, as we presented in our complaint to the Administrative Tribunal, the fact that France, a party to the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty, violates article 6 because it sells arms to countries of the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates responsible for war crimes:

«  A State Party shall not authorize any transfer of conventional arms…, if it has knowledge at the time of authorization that the arms or items would be used in the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, attacks directed against civilian objects or civilians protected as such, or other war crimes as defined by international agreements to which it is a Party. »

Before bringing the matter before the administrative court, ASER had alerted the French government many times, but this did not prevent it from supplying the coalition countries with more than €10 billion worth of weapons and authorising exports for more than €30 billion worth of weapons in 2018.

The scandal is all the more important because since last year the demands of the deputies – Sébastien Nadot (April 2018), Bastien Lachaud (July 2018) and more recently Alexis Corbière (February 2019) – to open an investigation into France’s arms sales have been blocked by the President of the French Republic.

ASER has special ECOSOC consultative status at the United Nations

ASER is a member of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA)

Contacts : http://aser-asso.org

For interview requests or participation in a program on the issue of weapons: Benoît Muracciole : +337 72 33 40 45

The Merkel government says NO to the involvement of German weapons in the massacre of the Yemeni population

Yesterday, Thursday 28 March, the German government extended the suspension of its arms sales to Saudi Arabia until 30 September. This decision is in line with Germany’s international commitments, including the Arms Trade Treaty, in one of the most horrific wars of the early 21st century.

Action Sécurité Ethique Républicaines (ASER) welcomes this decision as a clear response to the moral bankruptcy of the British and French governments. The latter had put pressure on the Merkel government by prioritising the protection of the European defence industry over the protection of the millions of Yemenis living in humanitarian emergency as a result of the war.

The ceasefire was again violated by an air attack by the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on 26 March. The missile exploded less than 50 metres from Kitaf Field Hospital, located about 100 kilometres north of Sana’a. He killed 7 people, including two children.

Despite this accumulation of grave violations of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, France, Great Britain and the United States continue to fuel this war by selling weapons to those countries responsible for war crimes, or even crimes against humanity.

The blindness of these governments was further illustrated by a new statement by British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt stating: « The crisis in Yemen will not be resolved by stopping British arms exports ». This archaic vision of building peace and security is being realized in a humanitarian disaster where 85,000 children under the age of 5 and more than 50,000 people have died in this conflict.

For the first time in the history of arms exports to France, Action Sécurité Ethique Républicaines (ASER) brought an action before the administrative court to request the suspension of French arms exports to countries that operate militarily in Yemen because they violate Article 6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).

ASER has special ECOSOC consultative status at the United Nations,

ASER is a member of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA),

ASER promotes the respect of human rights in the transfers and use of weapons, particularly by the police and security services