The Council of State suspended three arms export licences to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) granted by the new Walloon Government to three separate companies.
In December, the MR-Les Engagés-led government reversed a previous ban on weapons exports from the Walloon arms manufacturer FN Herstal to the UAE.
Following the news, the highest court in Belgium was urgently petitioned by several organisations, including the Human Rights League, the National Coordination of Action for Peace and Democracy, and Vredesactie, supported by Amnesty International.
The Council did not rule on a possible violation of European regulations on the export of military technologies and equipment.
However, it noted that the justification for these licences, as well as the opinions from the Advisory Commission on Arms Export Licences that preceded them, did not demonstrate a thorough examination of the requests based on the criteria set by the applicable legislation.
Illustration picture at the production site of weapons factory FN Herstal, in Herstal, Friday 25 February 2011. Credit: Belga
A request to suspend six other export licences to the UAE was rejected. This was either because the licences had already been executed, were for temporary export for demonstrations at an arms fair, or the beneficiaries had renounced them.
The Walloon Minister-President Adrien Dolimont (MR) reacted to decision on Friday evening. He stated that the decision highlights that arms licensing legislation is notably restrictive and needs to be reviewed, as stipulated in the government agreement.
"I acknowledge the Council of State’s decision, which appears to have analysed the various licences on a case-by-case basis," Dolimont added, noting that Wallonia "is not the only region exporting" to the UAE.
