South Sudan: Arms Trade

(asked on 16th October 2017) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Emirati counterpart on that country's use of regulatory gaps in UK shell companies to facilitate the export of arms to the South Sudanese Government; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
 Portrait
Rory Stewart
This question was answered on 24th October 2017

The UK takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. We do not licence the supply of equipment that would be in breach of an arms embargo, which would provoke or prolong armed conflicts, or aggravate existing tensions or conflicts, or if there is a clear risk that the items might be used for internal repression.

The British Government has not authorised the supply of arms to South Sudan. We have consistently called for a UN arms embargo to be implemented with immediate effect. Such an embargo would prevent any sale of arms to South Sudan globally.

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