Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the purpose of the UK’s arms export licensing criteria, and whether these criteria apply the precautionary principle over arms sales to prevent UK arms from being used in atrocities.

The purpose of the UK’s arms export licensing criteria is to ensure that the Government’s decisions on export licences are informed by a set of criteria which promote global security and facilitate responsible exports. The Criteria enable the Government to operate one of the most robust and transparent export control regimes in the world. We consider all new licence applications against the Criteria and will refuse any which are inconsistent with them. Specifically, Criteria 2c states that the Government will not issue or maintain export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law.