The UK routinely works with partners when executing its defence and security policies. These partnerships range from coalition operations, to assistance arrangements, including intelligence-sharing, arms export, and providing partners with access to UK assets, equipment and bases.
Legal cases and independent inquiries have revealed weaknesses in and risks of current partnership arrangements. Despite two decades of practice, legal opinion and inquiries establishing Parliament’s role in authorising the use of military force, these arrangements are not disclosed to Parliament, and the legal frameworks, policies and guidelines that inform them remain unclear.
In practice, existing parliamentary structures to govern, scrutinise and oversee assistance are insufficient, and Parliament is often kept in the dark. The Group is dedicated to improving this.
Today, a House of Lords ballot is held to allocate the order of the first 25 private members’ bills to be introduced in the new Parliament in the Lords. This provides a unique opportunity...
In 2012, the APPG on Drones was set up in response to growing concerns over the use of armed drones and centred on examining their legal, political and human rights impacts as an emerging...
On July 7, the Secretary of State for International Trade announced the UK would resume its arms sales to Saudi Arabia, stating “there is not a clear risk that the export of arms and...
Soleimani strike “unlawful” A recent investigation and report by the UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions, Dr Agnes Callamard, finds the US killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani “unlawful” and an “escalation.” Drawing...
In a landmark judgement on June 20, the Court of Appeal in London ruled that UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia are unlawful. The Judges ruled that licences should not be granted when there was...
A German court has found that part of US drone strikes in Yemen were “not compatible with international law” and asserted that Germany must “do more” to prevent its territory from being used in...
A German court has found that part of US drone strikes in Yemen were “not compatible with international law” and asserted that Germany must “do more” to prevent its territory from being used in unlawful strikes....
I am proud to announce that the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drones (which I Chair) successfully launched our Inquiry Report, ‘The UK’s use of armed drones: Working with partners’ at a high level event...
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drones has now completed its independent, two year Inquiry, ‘The UK’s use of armed drones: Working with partners’. The Inquiry was chaired and led by Professor Michael Clarke, former Director...
On Monday 30th October 2017, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Drones went to the First Tier Information Tribunal seeking information about the planned large scale expansion of a United States military and intelligence...
