Australia is selling arms at a weapons fair in Dubai. Are they destined to be used in Sudan atrocities? | Australia news

In a cavernous conference hall on the edge of the Dubai desert, a retired military officer in front of the Australian pavilion will offer “the key credibility of being in uniform” to defense companies distributing their wares.

Briefing notes shared by the head of Team Defense Australia describe it as “a unique advantage of engaging and engaging visiting military delegations.”

The Dubai International air show, starting Monday, is a “showcase” in its own words. [for] state-of-the-art military aircraft and air defense technologies”.

And Team Defense Australia owns a significant slice of real estate. middle row mansion More than 35 Australian companies will be represented at the arms fair.

There may be a reason for this prominent position.

The United Arab Emirates is by far Australia’s largest arms export market, with nearly $300 million worth of arms and ammunition shipped there in the last five years.

Between the slogans and sales tactics, there will likely be things left unsaid at this air show.

In Australia, parliamentarians, human rights organizations and religious groups are demanding a suspension of defense exports to the UAE, citing consistent reports to UN investigators that the UAE is arming a militia accused of genocide.

_{Sign up: AÜ Breaking News email}

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group is accused of a campaign of mass murder, rape and torture that intensified with the capture of the city of El Fasher in the famine-ridden Darfur region last month.

Thousands of people are believed to have been killed. Despite the communications blackout, the scale of the reported killings is supported by satellite images showing bodies on the ground and the widespread color of the ground flushed with blood.

RSF, formerly an ally of the Sudanese government but now fighting against it, has supplied “advanced weapons” From UAE via Chad and LibyaAccording to the latest UN expert reports, these weapons are being used to massacre non-Arab Sudanese.

UN investigates arms shipment to Sudan

According to government figures, Australia has exported $288 million worth of arms and ammunition to the UAE in the last five years; These exports increased significantly compared to 2019. But there are no details in Australian export data about which weapons and in what quantities were supplied to the UAE.

What is clear is that the UAE is by far the largest export market for Australian defense companies.

Separate figures in the UN Comtrade database show the UAE has received US$197 million worth of “weapons and ammunition, parts and accessories” from Australia in the past five years.

UN figures also suggest Australia was the fourth largest arms supplier to the UAE in the same five-year period.

But there is growing evidence that the UAE has armed the RSF largely in return. gold. An estimated 90% of Sudan’s gold is – Its value is approximately 13.4 billion dollars – Illegal smuggling out of the country, overshadowing legitimate trade: most go to UAE.

A UN expert panel detailed in April heavy turn of cargo planes He reportedly flew from the UAE and transported weapons, ammunition and medical equipment to the RSF via Chad.

The UAE has denied any involvement in arms smuggling and insists its flights are banned. humanitarian missionsIt was carrying supplies, sewing machines and Quran for the field hospital.

However, British-made target systems and armored personnel carrier engines were captured on the battlefields in Sudan. Bulgaria also said that the weapons it provided to the UAE re-exported without permission.

The UAE military itself has previously been accused of war crimes and violating arms embargoes, including in Yemen and Libya. The UAE denies the allegations.

Government backs expanded defense sales

Despite concerns from human rights groups, the Australian government believes its defense relationship with the UAE can be expanded further.

In a memo to defense companies last month, Austrade said: “The UAE’s comprehensive and ongoing defense procurement program represents real opportunities for Australian suppliers.”

The government covered the costs for dozens of companies to showcase their products “face to face with the UAE ministry of defense” in Dubai.

“At least one retired senior ADF officer will be present to lead the delegation,” the government briefing document says.

“They offer advice and support as well as the reliability of wearing a uniform.”

Green Senator David Shoebridge told the Guardian that the Australian government had green-lighted arms sales to the UAE on a “staggering scale” for the past five years, with almost no transparency.

“What do you think will happen when you start selling weapons to regimes like the UAE? These weapons will lead to some of the bloodiest conflicts in the world.”

“We know that the UAE is sending weapons to the RSF in Sudan. The public has received zero assurances from the Albanian Government that Australian weapons are not being used and abused in places like Darfur.”

This month, religious group Quakers Australia wrote to foreign minister Penny Wong, arguing that Australia could not be confident that Australian-made weapons were not being diverted to armed groups elsewhere because of the lack of transparency in its arms export regime.

The War Prevention Medical Association and other non-governmental organizations also made this call. urgent parliamentary review He increased Australia’s arms exports, arguing that the current export regime lacked accountability.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Australia had an obligation under international law to ensure its military trade did not lead to human rights abuses.

“But Australia does not have laws on the books requiring tracking of where and how these exports are used once they are exported,” said Daniela Gavshon, HRW’s Australia director.

‘Impossible’ to prove no weapons were used in Sudan

A spokesman for Australia’s defense ministry said it had a “rigorous and transparent export control framework consistent with international obligations”.

The spokesman said Australian legislation addressed “a range of issues, including foreign policy, human rights, national security, regional security and Australia’s international obligations, including the Arms Trade Treaty”. Additionally, laws came into force last year to provide greater control over the transfer of “controlled goods” to foreign entities.

Defense did not respond to questions about whether and how weapons exported to the UAE were tracked.

The Australian government condemned the atrocities in Sudan and called for a three-month “humanitarian ceasefire”. Wong was a signatory joint statement It said it was “gravely alarmed by reports of systematic and ongoing violence against civilians” from 27 countries.

The United Arab Emirates embassy did not respond to questions.

Philipp Kastner, a senior lecturer in international law at the University of Western Australia, told the Guardian it was difficult to confirm that Australian-made weapons were being re-exported to Sudan: “I would say it is impossible to confirm otherwise: these weapons are definitely Negative It was used in Sudan.”

Kastner argued that weapons do not bring peace. “It may be an increasingly lucrative business for Australian companies, but as a society we need to ask ourselves whether we really want to increase our wealth through arms production.”