22 April 2015
The sale of American military hardware is on the rise in the Middle East, reports the New York Times. Defense industry officials notified Congress that Arab allies fighting the Islamic State – Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Egypt – are set to purchase thousands of American-made missiles and other weapons. Until recently Gulf Nations militaries have been “a combination of something between symbols of deterrence and national flying clubs. Now they’re suddenly being used”, said Richard L. Aboulafia, a defense analyst at the Teal Group. Saudi Arabia has become the world’s fourth largest defense market, spending more than USD 80 billion on weaponry last year, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute tracking global military spending. The Emirates and Qatar have followed suit, the Emirates spending nearly USD 23 billion last year and Qatar signing an USD 11 billion agreement for the purchase of Apache attack helicopters and an air defense system. (more…)
Source: The New York Times | Sale of U.S. Arms Fuels the Wars of Arab States
26 August 2014
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, condemned the appalling and horrific crimes against humanity being committed daily in Iraq by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and associated armed groups. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | Iraqi civilians suffering ‘horrific’ persecution, ethnic cleansing – UN rights chief
20 May 2014
A report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services on the implementation of mandates to protect civilians in United Nations peacekeeping operations found that ‘peacekeeping missions with protection of civilians mandates focus on prevention and mitigation activities and force is almost never used to protect civilians under attack’. (para. 79) (more…)
Source: UNGA | UN Doc A/68/787 | Report on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services | 7 March 2014
Source: Reuters | U.N. study finds peacekeepers avoid using force to protect civilians
30 December 2013
Christof Heyns, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, expressed doubt on the legality of the conduct of both the US and Yemen in relation to recent lethal drone airstrikes, allegedly conducted by US forces in the Republic of Yemen, that resulted in civilian casualties. According to local security officials, 16 civilians were killed and at least 10 injured when two separate wedding processions were hit on 12 December 2013 in the Al-Baida Governorate. (more…)
Source: OHCHR | UN experts condemn lethal drone airstrikes in Yemen
Source: Reuters | U.N. experts urge U.S., Yemen to explain erroneous drone strikes