International arms trade

UK approves £5bn of arms exports to ‘countries of human rights concern’

The UK has approved more than £5bn worth of arms export licenses to countries listed as being of “human rights concern” by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, including Saudi Arabia, Libya, Syria, Ukraine and surprisingly...sanctioned Russia.

The annual report by the Committees on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) said that the government granted 28 states a total of 3,298 export licenses, valued at £5.2 billion. The CAEC urged London to be“significantly more cautious” handing out licenses.