John Brady
Question:71. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will support an international arms embargo in Yemen. [24133/21]
View answerTuesday, 11 May 2021
Questions (71)
Written answers
Ireland supports all efforts to end the conflict in Yemen, and urges all parties to the conflict to engage urgently and seriously with the UN led process led by Special Envoy Griffiths.
There is no currently no consensus at the UN Security Council on the imposition of an international arms embargo on Yemen. Such a decision would require a majority vote on the Council, as well as an absence of veto from any of the five Permanent Members.
Irish efforts are concentrated on ensuring the effective implementation of existing arms control agreements. Within the EU, all Member States have signed up to the EU’s Common Position on arms exports, and the 2014 Arms Trade Treaty. These obligations require States to assess the potential that arms exports could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law, and to consider measures to mitigate the risk of these violations.
The EU has effective measures in place to monitor the trade of arms and other dual use goods to ensure that the highest standards in international arms controls are met, and to tackle the illicit trade in arms. We need to ensure that these measures are being implemented, and that is the focus of our engagement on this issue.