Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will suspend the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We take our arms export responsibilities very seriously and the UK operates one of the most rigorous and transparent arms export control regimes in the world. All defence and dual-use exports are required to meet the UK’s strict export control requirements, which include consideration of the UK’s international commitments including under international treaties and obligations. We do not issue an export licence if there is a clear risk that the proposed export might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law. We also take account of any risk that the goods might be diverted to undesirable end-users or end-use.