2023-01-06
Fresh evidence exposed through Senate Estimates by Greens Senator David Shoebridge has found Australia's defence exports being funneled to regimes embroiled in ongoing wars involving war crimes, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
The secrecy and lack of controls around Australia's defence exports is grossly out of step with other countries where Parliaments have a much stronger role in overseeing military exports and ensuring transparency.
See Question on Notice and Answer here
Australian Greens Senator and Defence Spokesperson David Shoebridge said:
“The push to become a major arms exporter has led Australia straight into the arms of some of the worst human rights abusers on the planet.
“These are regimes that are willing to use their armed forces, and the weapons we supply them, to target civilians and commit war crimes.
“Australian weapons are helping to fuel the brutal war in Yemen, furthering the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe forcing millions of children into hunger. It’s a war on children and these shocking new weapons export figures show Australia has blood on its hands.
“With almost zero transparency on the end use of the weapons we sell there is an accountability vacuum that only encourages human rights abuses.
“Surely there are other ways to increase our national wealth than taking part in the international arms trade with all the inevitable suffering and killing it is designed to produce.
“The sheer number of export licenses granted to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates should cause a rapid rethink in the government’s plans to expand this industry.
“It’s an inescapable fact that if you want to sell a lot of weapons then your main customers will be countries that are engaged in a lot of wars and killing. Too often that means we are arming the aggressor and promoting war,” Senator Shoebridge said.
Background
The volume of international transfers of major arms remains among the highest since the end of the cold war. The biggest growth in global arms imports in the period 2016-2020 was in the Middle East, which imported 25 per cent more major arms in 2016–20 than in 2011–15.
Children and civilians impacted by arms transfers
Children in conflict are more at risk now than at any time in recorded history. 149 million children live in high-intensity conflict zones, areas experiencing thousands of battle-related deaths each year. The UN’s latest Children and Armed Conflict report found 22,645 grave violations against children in 2021, including the killing and maiming of 8070 children. Attacks on schools continue to increase, including attacks on students and teachers.
The war in Yemen is particularly brutal. According to human rights groups, Saudi Arabia, along with the UAE, has conducted indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in many parts of Yemen.
Defence exports transparency around the world:
The US, France, the UK, Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands have all moved to publish reports which include detailed data about the destination countries and/or the value of exports. Parliaments in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain play a significant role in overseeing and enhancing transparency around defence exports.
As a signatory to the Arms Trade Treaty, Australia has committed to adopt the highest possible standards to reduce harm, including robust and transparent defence export regulations. However, information on defence exports in Australia can only be accessed through Freedom of Information requests or questions raised at Senate Estimates.