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Today, twenty activists took action at the Brussels arms factory Sabca to protest the export of weapons to Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The activists demand that the government stops the export of weapons to conflict zones. “War starts at Sabca, let’s stop it here.”

The obligations of companies to implement human rights due diligence (HRdd) has reached the political agenda with the announcement of EU Commissioner Reynders to propose a binding EU framework, a range of national initiatives and the negotiation of a UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights. However, such human rights obligations by private actors are a horizontal application of obligations held by states. How are states performing their human rights due diligence and how accountable are they? Arms export licensing was originally driven by strategic concerns, but it is an important area where states have obliged themselves explicitly to conduct human rights due diligence. Common Position 2008/944/CFSP provides the framework in the EU.

On march 25th, the war in Yemen will be raging for five years. Today, we're launching an infographic showing the impact of the European arms trade on that war, and how we can strike back.