MEPs call for EU-wide arms embargo on Saudi Arabia

The resolution, which is non-binding, was supported by 325 lawmakers, with 1 against and 19 abstentions | European Parliament MEPs call for EU-wide arms embargo on Saudi Arabia Vote in favor of ban on ‘the export, sale, update and maintenance of any form of security equipment to Saudi Arabia, which can be or is used for repression.’

Members of the European Parliament on Thursday called for “an EU-wide arms embargo on Saudi Arabia” in response to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The resolution, which is nonbinding, was supported by 325 lawmakers, with one against and 19 abstentions.

The text says the Parliament wants all EU governments to reach a common position on an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia following Riyadh’s confirmation that Khashoggi died in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul earlier this month.

The Parliament “deplores the significant arms deals by EU Member States, among others Spain, France, Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom, with Saudi Arabia,” the text says. It “calls, once again, for an EU-wide ban on the export, sale, update and maintenance of any form of security equipment to Saudi Arabia, which can be or is used for repression.”

The EU has been divided in its response to Saudi Arabia following Khashoggi’s murder. While Germany has announced it is ready to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia, other countries, including France, have only spoken of “international sanctions.”

Drafted at the request of the Socialists and Democrats group, the Parliament text also calls for “an international, independent and impartial investigation” into Khashoggi’s death and for sanctions against Saudi individuals found responsible, including visa bans and asset freezes.

“The killing of Jamal Khashoggi requires a collective response that goes beyond a short-lived international uproar,” Victor Boştinaru, a Romanian member of the S&D, said.

“The explanations given so far by Riyadh are insufficient and absolutely not credible — they are mostly a whitewash of an appalling and fragrant assassination, and an extraordinary violation of human rights as well as diplomatic and consular law,” he said.

“We welcome the European Parliament’s strong criticism of Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on activists and journalists,” said a statement from Amnesty International. “Until recently the Kingdom’s blanket suppression of human rights has largely been met with a deafening silence from the international community.”

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