NGOs urge France to stop arm sales to Saudi-UAE coalition

 In a joint press release, a set of international human rights organisations have called on Thursday France to stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia and the UAE over the  deadly war in Yemen.

Organisations including Amnesty International, Action against Hunger and Doctors of the World urged France to use its key position as president this month of the U.N. security council and as head of the Group of Seven developed countries this year.

In a similar move, Amnesty International launched last week a petition calling for a worldwide ban on arms sales to Saudi-led coalition forces in light of the growing humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

The petition accused the UAE and Saudi Arabia of gross human rights violations and possible war crimes in Yemen.

Despite the UAE and Saudi Arabia's involvement in committing war crimes, France continues its arms sales to the UAE-Saudi coalition in total violation to its own laws.

Indeed, a recent report published by French law firm Ancile Avocat asserted that France’s continued sale of weapons to the two Gulf countries responsible for the carnage and chaos in Yemen was a violation of France’s status as a signatory of the International Arms Trade Treaty, ratified in 2014.