Saudi Arabia: Arms Sales Debate
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Baroness Smith of Newnham
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Saudi Arabia: Arms Sales
Baroness Smith of Newnham Excerpts(5 years, 3 months ago)
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Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
I do not believe that they are, but in order to give the noble Lord a completely accurate answer to his question, I will write to him.
Baroness Smith of Newnham (LD) [V]
My Lords, your Lordships’ International Relations and Defence Committee, of which I am a member, produced reports on the Middle East in 2017 and Yemen in 2019, in which we raised concerns about the Saudi-led coalition’s misuse of weaponry leading to the loss of civilian life. In particular, we noted that assurances by Saudi-led reviews are not enough and not an adequate way of implementing our obligations of risk-based assessment set out in the Arms Trade Treaty. Does the Minister agree, and will he clarify what assessment has been made, beyond what the Saudis have told the Government?
Lord Grimstone of Boscobel
The assessments we make are very much our own assessments, led by specialist people who are expert in these matters. We draw on information from a number of sources, including but not confined to the Saudis, and a whole range of material is considered in coming to our view of what the appropriate assessment of a particular incident should be.