Hello there-
A very happy new year to you all from Amnesty . I only wish we could say that the year did start happily – instead we’ve all been working hard monitoring the human rights impact of the conflict still raging in Gaza. Amnesty is calling for an immediate, humanitarian truce to allow aid and medical assistance in, and to allow civilians to get out of the firing line. It’s hard to see that the daily three-hour stoppage that we have at present will be anywhere near enough. And of course we're calling on all sides - Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups - to stop attacks which target civilians. You can join our campaign here.
Amnesty has also uncovered evidence, reported in the Guardian today, that the specially-designed engines for ‘drones’ – small, unmanned aircraft used by Israeli forces to target air strikes - may originate here in the UK. There’s a full briefing on the story here. We're calling on on the UK government to suspend all military exports to Israel until there’s no longer a substantial risk that such equipment will be used for serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law.
From all the reports I’ve heard, the majority of the 670+ killed in Gaza seem to have been victims of aerial bombardment. And many of these reports mention the use of these ‘drones’ over the region. In past conflicts, like that in Lebanon, they have reportedly been used in attacks on civilian and humanitarian targets.
UAV Engines Ltd (UEL), based near Birmingham, has stated that it manufactures the engines for Hermes 450 UAVs (Unmanned Airborne Vehicles). Specifications displayed beside a Hermes 450 at a 2006 defence exhibition also state that the Hermes 450 is powered by a ‘UEL AR-80-1010’ engine, made by UAV Engines Ltd.
Hermes 450s are described by their manufacturer, Elbit Systems of Israel, as “the ‘backbone’ of Israeli army and air force ISTAR [Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition And Reconnaissance] missions”. They have reportedly been deployed for surveillance and targeting missions in Gaza prior to 2006, and were reportedly central to IDF operations in Gaza and Lebanon during 2006.
A spokesperson for Elbit Systems has denied to British media that UK-made engines are incorporated into the Hermes 450s used by the Israeli armed forces. But the evidence looks pretty convincing.
As far as we can see, UEL and Elbit have operated within the law and UK regulations. So the finger of blame is not pointed at the company but at the UK government. They say that the UK won’t allow exports of ‘main weapons’ – like guns, planes and tanks – to Israel because of concerns about the ongoing conflict. But loopholes mean that components for weapons that could be used in human rights abuses can be legally sold from the UK; as can parts that are sold to another country for incorporation into weapons that are sold-on to Israel.
Please spread the word about this story so we can put more pressure on the UK government to suspend military exports to Israel – we’ll be raising the issue directly in a meeting with the Foreign Office on Monday. And you can join the debate at my blog on this topic here.
Until next time,
Steve
From Amnesty’s Project Blog Team
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