Dutch Parliament Votes to Ban Weapon Exports to Saudi Arabia

The Dutch parliament passed a bill Tuesday calling for the government of the Netherlands to halt weapons exports to Saudi Arabia, citing ongoing violations of humanitarian law in Yemen.

The Dutch vote effectively seeks to implement a decision in February by the European Parliament, which called on countries in the European Union to impose an arms embargo on Riyadh.

Around 6,000 people have been killed since Saudi-led forces entered the conflict in Yemen last March, almost half of them civilians, according to the United Nations.

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The Dutch bill cited a U.N. report from Jan. 22 by the Panel of Experts on Yemen, as well as ongoing executions in Saudi Arabia, as reasons for the ban. It asked the government to strictly implement the weapons embargo and not to license dual-use exports that could be used to violate human rights.

Britain and France are the main European suppliers of arms to Saudi Arabia. Germany licensed arms exports of almost US$200 million to the Saudi kingdom in the first six months of 2015.