‘The UK kept approving arms sales to the UAE, even when the risks were staring it in the face. This raises serious questions about the UK’s potential complicity in mass atrocities’ - Oliver Feeley-Sprague 

In response to reports that UK military equipment is being used by Rapid Support Forces accused of genocide in Sudan, Oliver Feeley-Sprague, Amnesty International UK’s Military, Security and Policing Director, said: 

“To describe the UK’s arms licensing system as ‘robust’ while UK-made components have been found in weapons used by forces responsible for the widespread killings of civilians in Sudan is frankly indefensible.  

“The UK’s own arms trade rules require it to stop the supply of weapons where there is a clear risk those weapons could be diverted to countries under arms embargo or used by end-users to commit or facilitate atrocities.  

“The UAE has been a known hub for arms diversion for years and the UK government has long been aware of weapons being routed through the Emirates to conflict zones like Sudan and Libya. Yet the UK kept approving arms sales to the UAE, even when the risks were staring it in the face. This raises serious questions about the UK’s potential complicity in mass atrocities.

“In 2022, the UK government promised to close this loophole by tightening export controls on parts like engines that could end up in military use in prohibited countries. Finding UK-made engines in Sudanese military vehicles shows exactly why those rules were needed and casts serious doubt about whether they’re being properly implemented or enforced. 

“The Government must immediately suspend all arms to the UAE. It must also prove that, in light of this evidence, it has launched a full investigation into how this equipment ended up in Sudan, notified the UK company in line with its own enhanced military end-use controls and, taken firm, immediate action to stop this from happening again.”