Weapons for those who violate human rights, Salvini and Macron agree: “No to EU sanctions”

European arms exports continue almost without interruption to countries that the EU has relegated outside the perimeter of legitimate military trade. The alarm comes from one resolution voted by the European Parliament in which it is specified that the EU is “the second largest arms exporter to both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates”, both involved in the armed conflict in Yemen where the parties to the conflict “have engaged , and they continue to commit crimes in violation of international law. ” However, from the text voted by the European Parliament, a part that called for the establishment of “an EU sanctioning system” for member states that violate export prohibitions established at European level has disappeared.

The vote

The ‘no’ to sanctions came with a House vote that brought together a majority ranging from the Liberals of Renew Europe, which includes members of the French president’s party. Emmanuel macron, La République En Marche, to the sovereignists of Identity and Democracy, whose largest delegation is made up of the deputies of the League of Matteo salvini.

The blacklist

The same text recalls that the EU has approved a series of arms embargoes. A blacklist (shown on the map below) that currently includes Belarus, Central African Republic, China, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, North Korea, Russian Federation, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe. But although this embargo should “deprive a country of military resources”, there is still a lack of control and sanction systems to prevent weapons from reaching states where they could not be exported, at least from EU countries.

The case of Russia

With the ban on military exports, the Union also wants to avoid arming those countries with which a diplomatic crisis is taking place. The case of Russia, the protagonist of the tensions triggered by the conflict in Ukraine, stands out above all. She also recently raised the issue of arms trafficking in Libya, where Russia is accused of sending arms in violation of the UN embargo and in support of the general. Khalifa haftar, in turn supported by France.

The complaint

A text passed yesterday to the European Parliament gave the opportunity to put an end to illicit trafficking but “unfortunately, a conservative-liberal majority has prevented sanctioning mechanisms against states that violate the EU criteria for arms exports.” So says the German MEP Joachim schuster, which denounces the vote that has found the convergence of the groups Renovar Europa, Partido Popular, Conservatives and Reformistas, Identidad y Democracia. The respective European families of Italy Viva di Matteo renzi, Forza Italia de Silvio Berlusconi, Brothers of Italy from Giorgia Meloni and the Salvini League are accused of having shattered the introduction of sanctions on EU countries that export arms to regimes and conflict zones.

The ‘disfigurement’ of human rights

“The chances of circumventing strict national regulations on arms exports and controls are increasing,” denounces Schuster, a member of the Socialists and Democrats. In text approved yesterday Sanctions for those who do not respect the prohibitions established in the EU are also mentioned among the possible measures to be taken in the future, but they are not explicitly requested as the German MEP would have liked. “It is a great shame for those who define themselves as human rights defenders and then vote against binding EU rules to prevent European weapons from being used to commit violations,” concludes the MEP.

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