British military equipment used by militia accused of genocide found in Sudan, UN told.
Documents seen by the UN security council reveal that British-made small-arms target systems and engines for armoured personnel carriers have been recovered from combat sites in Sudan. The equipment is believed to have been supplied to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group accused of genocide.
The UK government's decision to export this equipment has raised questions about its role in fuelling the conflict. The UAE, where the RSF is based, has repeatedly denied allegations that it supplies arms to the group.
Months after initial allegations surfaced, new data suggests that the British government approved further exports of military equipment to the UAE for use by the RSF. The equipment includes British-made engines specifically designed for a type of armoured personnel carrier manufactured by a UAE-based company called Nimr.
The finding has prompted concern among human rights activists and experts, who argue that the UK's export of arms to the UAE could be contributing to the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.
"The international community, including the UK, must urgently investigate how this transfer occurred and ensure that no British technology or weaponry contributes to the suffering of innocent Sudanese civilians," said Abdallah Idriss Abugarda, chair of the Darfur Diaspora Association.
The UN security council has previously received reports alleging UAE involvement in supplying arms to the RSF. The UK government has refused to disclose details about its export licensing decisions, citing national security concerns.
Cummins Inc, a US-based company that manufactures engines for the armoured personnel carriers, said it had a strong compliance culture and followed applicable laws and regulations regarding sanctions and export controls.
The UK's decision to export arms to the UAE in this case has sparked controversy. The country is accused of failing to adequately assess the risk of diversion to the conflict in Sudan and not doing enough to prevent the supply of equipment that could be used in international crimes.
In 2013, the UK government approved exports of night-vision sights to a UAE business, which were subsequently procured by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
The UN security council's finding raises further questions about the UK's role in fuelling conflicts abroad and its commitment to preventing arms being diverted to groups accused of human rights abuses.
Documents seen by the UN security council reveal that British-made small-arms target systems and engines for armoured personnel carriers have been recovered from combat sites in Sudan. The equipment is believed to have been supplied to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group accused of genocide.
The UK government's decision to export this equipment has raised questions about its role in fuelling the conflict. The UAE, where the RSF is based, has repeatedly denied allegations that it supplies arms to the group.
Months after initial allegations surfaced, new data suggests that the British government approved further exports of military equipment to the UAE for use by the RSF. The equipment includes British-made engines specifically designed for a type of armoured personnel carrier manufactured by a UAE-based company called Nimr.
The finding has prompted concern among human rights activists and experts, who argue that the UK's export of arms to the UAE could be contributing to the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.
"The international community, including the UK, must urgently investigate how this transfer occurred and ensure that no British technology or weaponry contributes to the suffering of innocent Sudanese civilians," said Abdallah Idriss Abugarda, chair of the Darfur Diaspora Association.
The UN security council has previously received reports alleging UAE involvement in supplying arms to the RSF. The UK government has refused to disclose details about its export licensing decisions, citing national security concerns.
Cummins Inc, a US-based company that manufactures engines for the armoured personnel carriers, said it had a strong compliance culture and followed applicable laws and regulations regarding sanctions and export controls.
The UK's decision to export arms to the UAE in this case has sparked controversy. The country is accused of failing to adequately assess the risk of diversion to the conflict in Sudan and not doing enough to prevent the supply of equipment that could be used in international crimes.
In 2013, the UK government approved exports of night-vision sights to a UAE business, which were subsequently procured by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
The UN security council's finding raises further questions about the UK's role in fuelling conflicts abroad and its commitment to preventing arms being diverted to groups accused of human rights abuses.
... how can a country like the UK, which is always going on about doing what's right, just supply arms to a group that's accused of genocide? 
It's like they're ignoring all the warnings and just letting it happen. And now I hear they approved more exports after initial allegations surfaced... that's just crazy talk! 
They need to take responsibility for this and figure out how their own export policies are so broken. The US company Cummins Inc says they have a compliance culture, but what does that even mean? Is it enough to stop the UK from supplying arms to a group like this? I don't think so...
. I'm not buying the "national security concerns" excuse either. We need more transparency and accountability from our governments when it comes to arms deals. Can't we trust them to make better choices? 
And the fact that the UAE is denying any involvement, but the UN found proof of it... I don't know what's more disturbing, the fact that it happened or that nobody seemed to be doing anything about it until now. 
It just goes to show how complex and messy global politics can get. 
oh noooo this is so not cool like the uk is just exporting guns to a country that has a paramilitary group that is allegedly doing genocide 
it's not right that they're just ignoring all these allegations and exporting more guns to the UAE 
gotta do better, uk 
. It looks like the British government just sold some super powerful equipment to the UAE, which could end up in the hands of these militia guys who are allegedly responsible for genocide in Sudan. I mean, what's going on here? The UK is saying they can't disclose details about their export decisions, but that sounds like a pretty dodgy excuse to me 
.
. It raises so many questions about accountability and where the UK's priorities are at. I mean, think about it - they have a history of exporting stuff to groups that end up using it for bad things, like the Taliban in Afghanistan 
.
. It's like they're trying to sweep this under the rug and avoid any blame 
. But we can't just sit back and let governments get away with this stuff without calling them out 
. We need more transparency and accountability, especially when it comes to arms deals that could be fueling conflicts abroad 
The fact that they're still trying to keep things under wraps is pretty suspicious. And let's not forget that whole night-vision sight thing in 2013... yeah, that wasn't exactly a confidence booster for their export policies. It's all about accountability, guys. Can we please just get some transparency on this? 
Like, who knew that the UK was secretly running a militia armada in Sudan?! Just kidding, kinda serious tho 
. And the UK's all like "national security concerns"... yeah right, more like "I don't wanna answer any questions about this, periodt!" 
. Anywayz, it's just another example of how arms exports can lead to some pretty sketchy stuff going down in the world 
. cummins inc says they followed laws and regulations, but what about the uk's role in all of this? did they do their own checks or were they just too scared to rock the boat 
. the fact that they approved further exports after initial allegations surfaced is just shady 
. we need more transparency here and answers from the uk government on what went down 
.
this is just wrong... the uk should know where their exports are going and who's getting them... it's not like they're just magically disappearing into thin air 
... the uk needs to get its act together and start taking responsibility for its actions 
... we can't just sit back and let them fuel conflicts abroad while pretending everything's fine 
this is super worrying, if uku exports arms 2 countries that have history of using them against civilians, how can we be sure they wont end up in wrong hands? 
shouldn't they be focusing on helping ppl get out of poverty & conflict instead of fueling more violence? 
cuz they sold equipment 2 taliban fighters in afghanistan back in 2013 
& now its sudan 
but seriously ppl shud be askin if the uk gov even cares bout humanitarian crises n stuff cuz they just exported more arms 2 uae n now theres genocide in sudan