Rights Groups Urge Macron to Press UAE on Yemen Abuses As Crown Prince Visits France

Local Editor

French and international human rights groups, in statements released Tuesday, urged French President Emmanuel Macron to stop supplying weapons and munitions to the United Arab Emirates if there is a substantial risk that these arms are being used in Yemen to commit violations of international law.

Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan – known by his initials MBZ – is visiting Paris, where he is expected to meet Macron, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Prime Minister Édouard Philippe.

The crown prince – considered the UAE’s de facto leader and deputy commander of its armed forces – was scheduled to visit France last month just weeks after the October 2 disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi from the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. But the visit was cancelled due to “unforeseen reasons”.

Saudi Arabia has since admitted that Khashoggi was killed by its operatives in Turkey.

The UAE plays a prominent role in the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen, which sparked the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, according to the UN.

Khashoggi’s murder renewed calls for an end to the three-year conflict in the world’s poorest Arab nation that has left an estimated 10,000 dead, the UN warned.

France, as one of the leading suppliers of arms to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, faced increasing pressure to halt arms sales to the oil-rich Gulf kingdoms leading the military campaign in Yemen.

The call came as US President Donald Trump said he would not cancel military contracts with Saudi Arabia despite conceding that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may have known about Khashoggi’s murder.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team