2023-10-31 19:17:00
In 2022, Belgium exported more than 830 million euros worth of weapons to 66 countries and among them, Israel. Amnesty International calls for an embargo on these arms sales: “We are calling for an arms embargo, whether for Hamas or Israel. We don’t want Belgian weapons used to carry out war crimes“, explains Carine Thibaut, Amnesty International’s general director for Belgium.
In Belgium, competence in arms sales is exclusively regional: a sector dominated by the Walloon region which 100% owns the company FN Herstal. Decision-making power lies in the hands of a single person: the minister-president. “This is not a government decision, there is no involvement of Parliament or external actors. The decision rests with one person: the Minister-President, who decides alone,” notes Manuel Lambert, legal advisor to the Human Rights League.
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Elio Di Rupo, the Minister-President of Wallonia, did not wish to answer our questions: “The Minister-President never speaks on the subject of granting arms export licenses“, explained Elio Di Rupo’s spokesperson.
What would be Belgium’s responsibility in the event of war crimes committed with its weapons? “It could also be involved since there is a panel of UN experts which has already established, with regard to the war in Yemen, that the companies and states which supply weapons to states which commit crimes of war can see their responsibility engaged“, explains Manuel Lambert.
Indeed, there are international rules to respect in the arms export sector and Belgium stopped delivering arms to Saudi Arabia in 2021. In its 2022 arms report, Wallonia says it has respected all embargoes currently in force.
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