Press Release: UK arms companies warned they could face prosecution if they continue selling arms to Israel
Letters have been sent by four organisations to the directors of UK arms companies warning them they could face criminal liability.
top of page
War and Occupation
The organised violence of war and military occupations entail the potential for great abuses of power on vulnerable populations. GLAN is especially interested in the participation of powerful actors who contribute to the commission of violations of international law for political or economic profit. These include states or corporations in the global north who act as accessories to violations of human rights and the law of war.
Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), Al-Haq and Sadaka – the Ireland Palestine Alliance and submitted the first ever complaint of its kind globally to Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) against the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), concerning its investments in 11 companies linked to Israeli war crimes. The complaint outlines how revenue generated by activity of these companies which supports both Israel’s illegal settlements, and its ongoing Gaza offensive is the proceeds of crime and therefore liable to seizure by CAB.
Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) and Palestinian human rights organisation Al Haq are taking the government to the High Court to suspend all weapons export licences to Israel. Under the government’s Strategic Licensing Criteria, weapons may not be exported where there is a clear risk they might be used in violations of international law.
Since March 2015, an intensive air-strike offensive by the Saudi/UAE-led Coalition has targeted markets, farms, family homes, civilian vehicles, civilian infrastructure and objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population.
GLAN has developed a multi-pronged approach to addressing the lack of accountability for airstrikes causing grave civilian harm.
OPEN-SOURCE EVIDENCE AND THE LAWS OF WAR
On 24th October 2022, GLAN and Bellingcat released two reports that seek to answer two key questions: Can OOSI help in documenting and analysing violations of the law applicable in war (international humanitarian law or IHL)?;
Can open-source information serve as evidence in a war crimes trial?
GLAN and the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) have released a report “Tainted tourism: package tourism’s contribution tothe illegal settlement economy in Israeli occupied territories” which profiles nine industry leaders who contribute to and benefit from the maintenance of Israel’s illicit settlements economy in the occupied Palestinian territory. European and North American tour operators regularly visit Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) and misleadingly market them as being in Israel.
GLAN and Bellingcat have launched a Justice & Accountability project to investigate alleged atrocity crimes taking place in conflict situations. The aim of the project is to conduct a set of open source investigations into incidents causing civilian harm occurring according to robust legal standards with the aim of making them available to national and international prosecutors who are gathering evidence of alleged crimes.
GLAN and Bellingcat have launched a project to investigate alleged atrocity crimes taking place in Ukraine. The aim of the project is to conduct a set of open source investigations into incidents causing civilian harm occurring in Ukraine according to robust legal standards with the aim of making them available to national and international prosecutors who are gathering evidence of alleged crimes.
bottom of page