ABSTRACT

The war in Yemen has shown inconsistencies in European Union (EU) member states’ arms export control practices: specifically, how they have applied international humanitarian law standards in their arms transfer decisions towards members of the Saudi-led coalition involved in the conflict. While such discrepancies are not new, the ratification of the Arms Trade Treaty by all EU member states, including the United Kingdom (UK) at the time, has provided another framework for bringing these controversies into the spotlight. It has also provided non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the UK and France with further legal grounds to challenge the legality of these governments’ arms exports to Saudi Arabia and to seek their compliance with their obligations in the field of arms trade. These actions are noteworthy in terms of the information they provide on states’ arms export risk assessment procedures, on how to interpret and implement applicable legislation, and their possible impact on other countries’ decision-making in the same domain.

摘要

也门战争表明，欧盟成员国的武器出口管制做法存在矛盾：具体而言，它们如何在对涉及冲突的沙特阿拉伯领导的联盟成员的武器转让决定中应用国际人道法标准。尽管这种差异并不新鲜，但当时包括英国（UK）在内的所有欧盟成员国对《武器贸易条约》的批准为将这些争议引起关注提供了另一个框架。它还为英国和法国的非政府组织（NGO）提供了进一步的法律依据，以挑战这些政府向沙特阿拉伯出口武器的合法性，并寻求其在武器贸易领域的义务得到遵守。