Amnesty International has published an investigation criticizing France's efforts to train Saudi soldiers on its soil, and for its continuing sales of arms to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, despite compelling evidence of war crimes in Yemen.
The investigation - which took a full year to complete the sale of French weapons to Saudi Arabia and military cooperation with it - revealed that the Belgian "Commercie Coquirel" center located on French soil is preparing to receive Saudi soldiers, to train them to control the last version of weapons used in Yemen.
The investigation, which was described as unprecedented and conducted by journalist Audrey Lopi, told the news magazine "Akronik" published by Amnesty International that Saudi Arabia was waging a relentless war in Yemen in violation of international law.
The investigation, which titled "France is a Land of Welcome", added that, with Paris continuing to maintain this trade with Riyadh, it has become involved in war crimes in Yemen, in stark contrast to its international obligations.
The editor of the investigation expressed regret that the sale of French weapons is not subject to the supervision of Parliament, and that deputies are under pressure when trying to intervene or obtain information related to what she described as the death trade.
Violation of an international treaty
By planning to train Saudi soldiers on its soil, "France violates its obligations under the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty," according to the organization.
Amnesty International says that France has sold military hardware worth more than 6 billion euros to Saudi Arabia, and about 1.5 billion to the UAE since the beginning of the conflict in Yemen.
Over the past five years, France has sold 7.9% of all weapons sold in the world, becoming the third largest arms exporter in the world thanks to its Saudi friend, the organization says.
Thus, Saudi Arabia will be France's first customer in purchasing weapons, and its military spending in 2018 amounted to more than $ 67 billion, an amount equivalent to 8.8% of Saudi Arabia's gross domestic product, which is the highest in the world for spending on weapons of GDP, according to the organization.
Treaties
Amnesty International says that France has ratified the Arms Trade Treaty, which, in Article VI, prohibits arms transfers to countries when it knows it will be used for genocide, crimes against humanity, or other war crimes.
It adds that Article Seven requires states parties to assess the risks posed by the contribution of weapons by violating international law, as in the case of attacks on civilians.
The organization said that, in 2019, French Defense Minister Florence Barley made a commitment to parliament to stop supplying some weapons if there was a risk of them being used in human rights violations, but France did not commit to this despite the overwhelming evidence of war crimes in Yemen, according to Amnesty International.
The organization concluded by quoting a consultant specialized in war crimes litigation and arms sales that the continued handover of weapons used to commit violations is a complicity of war crimes.