By Cahal Milmo
The Government has been accused of inviting a “who’s who of human rights abusers” to the world’s largest defence and security fair opening in London next week.
The list of countries formally invited to send high-level delegations to the Defence and Security International Exhibition (DSEI), which has been shown to the i, includes five regimes on the Government’s own “human rights priority” register drawn up because of concern over abusive treatment of their citizens.
Stand-off
The 56 nations to receive invitations to the arms fair from the Department for International Trade include Saudi Arabia and Qatar, two countries at the center of an ongoing bitter stand-off in the Middle East over angrily-contested allegations that Qatar supports terrorism.
The Saudis are also leading the military campaign in the Yemen, where they have been accused of using of British-made weaponry in a conflict which has killed thousands of civilians. Despite intense criticism of the campaign, Britian has continued to supply munitions to the Saudis, approving nearly 200 arms export licences worth £3.3bn since the conflict began in 2015.
Other countries asked to attend the arms showcase in London’s Docklands, which opens on Tuesday, include Bahrain, which has been repeatedly criticized for its human rights record. Turkey, a Nato member which has also been accused of becoming more authoritarian under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is also invited.
‘Dark stain’
Caroline Lucas, the co-leader of the Green Party, who received the invitation list, said: “The arms fair invite list reads like a who’s who of human rights abusers. From the Saudis who are engaged in widespread violence against civilians in Yemen, to the repressive regime of Bahrain and the increasingly draconian Turkey – we’re selling weapons to despots and dictators.
“This arms fair really is a dark stain on our country’s already tarnished reputation. It’s time that this festival of violence was shut down for good and the UK engages in peace building rather than trying to cement itself as the world’s weapons dealer.”
Some 3,000 VIP delegates, ranging from defence ministers to senior generals, are expected to attend DSEI at the ExCel centre, which exhibits the portfolios of arms and security manufacturers from around the world but is also a global showcase for British-made hardware.
Big earners for UK Plc
The defence and security sectors remain big earners for UK Plc. Official figures show that British companies secured defence export orders worth £5.9bn last year and security sales worth £4.3bn. On a ten-year average basis, Britain is the world’s second largest defence exporter after the United States.
But campaigners, who have this week staged demonstrations in Docklands in an attempt to frustrate efforts to move equipment into the exhibition hall, accuse the Government of pursuing sales to questionable regimes at the expense of human rights.
The invitation list includes five countries named as being a “human rights priority” by the Foreign Office – Bahrain, Colombia, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
Frigates to hunting knives
Andrew Smith, of Campaign Against Arms Trade, said: “The list is a roll call of despots, dictatorships and repressive regimes, invited by a government that has consistently prioritised arms company interests over human rights.
“UK arms are already being used by Saudi forces in the devastating destruction of Yemen, and the deals done at DSEI could be used to fuel atrocities and abuses for years to come.”
The Government faced similar criticism when the biennial arms fair, which attracts some 1,500 exhibitors offering products from frigates to hunting knives, was last held. Countries invited in 2015, including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Angola, do not appear on the new list.
The Department for International Trade, which issues the invitations via the Defence & Security Organisation, the government body dedicated to the sale of military and security equipment, did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
Source: i News, Edited by Website Team
