The UK Parliament has recently introduced the Arms Trade (Inquiry and Suspension) Bill (the “Bill”), which aims to ensure that arms sold to foreign states are not used in violation of international law. It is currently pending a second reading in the House of Commons.

The Bill’s primary objective is to ensure that the UK’s arms exports comply with international law and it makes provision for an independent inquiry into (i) the end use of UK arms exports, (ii) compliance with international law by states in respect of which arms export licences have been granted, and (iii) the application of export licensing criteria in respect of previous arms 20 exports, with specific reference to Strategic Export Licensing Criteria 1 to 3 and to the United Nations’ Arms Trade Treaty. The Bill calls for the immediate suspension of arms sales to foreign states where it cannot be demonstrated that the arms will not be used in violation of international law. The introduction of this Bill comes in response to growing concerns about the use of UK arms in conflicts and human rights abuses.

Author

London

Author

London

Author

London