France must Stop Arms-laden Ship of Shame Bound for Saudi Arabia - Amnesty International

By Staff, Agencies 

A Saudi Arabian cargo ship believed to be transporting Canadian armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia must be stopped in France, Amnesty International said, as the ship transited through the maritime port of Marseille-Fos.

The organization warned there is a serious risk that the military material on board the Bahri Tabuk will be used by the Saudi Arabian armed forces to commit war crimes and other abuses in Yemen, and said there were legitimate reasons to fear that French munitions destined for Saudi Arabia may also be loaded at Marseille-Fos. 

The Bahri maritime transport company’s calendar shows that the Bahri Tabuk was originally scheduled to sail to Genoa after its stopover in Canada but was redirected to Marseille instead.

On 9 and 10 May 2019 another Saudi Arabian cargo ship, the Bahri Yanbu, was prevented from docking at the port of Le Havre, where it was due to load a shipment of French weapons, following legal action by French NGOs and increased public scrutiny.

“We have grounds to fear that the shipment of arms which was blocked from being loaded on to the Bahri Yanbu will instead be loaded onto the Bahri Tabuk,” said Aymeric Elluin, Arms Advocacy Officer at Amnesty International France.                               

“We must not allow this ship of shame to load any dangerous shipment of French arms or to transport weapons from other countries, such as Canada, to Saudi Arabia. The arrival of the Bahri Tabuk is a new test of France’s willingness to respect its obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and the European Union Common Position on the control of arms brokering."

On 28 May the media organization Disclose revealed that, according to its sources, the Bahri Tabuk was expected to load munitions in France for Caesar howitzers being sold to Saudi Arabia under the terms of the OASIS 6 contract. This shipment, were it to go ahead, would be in conflict with article 6.3 of the Arms Trade Treaty, which sets out that transfers must not be authorized if there is a risk that the equipment will be used to commit human rights violations, including war crimes.

France is one of many states party to the ATT, which continues to supply weapons to Saudi Arabia despite the clear risk of them being used to commit war crimes in Yemen. By continuing to supply weapons to Saudi Arabia, France is blatantly ignoring its international obligations.

A number of Canadian media sources have relayed images posted on social media by members of the Saudi National Guard, which seem to confirm that these armored vehicles were seen a few months ago around the unstable border zones with Yemen. Amnesty International has not been able to verify this information.

Amnesty International called on Canada, which is in the process of acceding to the Arms Trade Treaty, to align its national legislation with the obligations of the Treaty so that such exports can no longer take place.