US government Watchdog calls for holding UAE accountable

A US congressional watchdog's report has found serious gaps in the government's oversight of arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to the Human Rights Watch, which called for a suspension of weapons sales.

"Without being able to effectively monitor how US-made weapons are being used by the Saudis and their allies, or if US training and support is mitigating civilian harm, the US risks more than its values. It also risks complicity in the crimes themselves," the rights group said in a statement on Tuesday.

The internal report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), obtained by HRW, says that neither the State nor Defence Departments could "provide evidence" that they had "investigated any incidents of potential unauthorized use of equipment transferred to Saudi Arabia or UAE".

The GAO report also concluded that the US government had failed to evaluate civilian casualties and the use of American-made weapons in the killings caused by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

The report, also seen by The New York Times, focuses on attacks between 2015-2021 by the Saudi-led coalition, which has been at war with Yemen's Houthi rebels since March 2015.

"The alliance has carried out deadly strikes using combat jets and munitions that have been supplied and maintained largely by American companies with the approval of the State Department and the Pentagon," the report said.

News of the report comes as President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia. The White House confirmed on Tuesday that the trip would take place in mid-July.

Earlier this month, several top US lawmakers urged Biden to rework Washington's relationship with the kingdom and told him to warn Riyadh against pursuing more strategic cooperation with China on ballistic missiles amid reports of his trip.

The GAO report also comes after a bipartisan group of US lawmakers introduced a War Powers resolution that would bring an end to all remaining support for the Saudi-led coalition at war in Yemen.