This week, between March 10-12 the quiet English town of Farnborough will play host to the Security and Policing 2015 conference and exhibition. This event will bring together some of the world’s biggest arms companies with some of the worst human rights abusers.
The event, which is organised by the Home Office and does not allow journalists, is focused on the promotion and sale of weapons that can be used for state repression.
It will be attended by delegations from a number of oppressive regimes. The attendees list has not been released yet, but previous events have been attended by delegations from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Columbia, Qatar, Libya, Algeria and others.
Over recent years UK equipment has been linked to crackdowns and human rights abuses in Hong Kong, Bahrain, Egypt and Kuwait. The only reason any of these allegations have been made public is due to the work of journalists and campaigners on the ground.
Andrew Smith of Campaign Against arms Trade said:
Events like this only strengthen the UK’s ties to dictatorships and entrench the government’s role as a global arms dealer. They undermine the UK’s claims to be promoting human rights and strengthen the position of repressive regimes.
At the 2014 event visitors browsed the stands of major weapons manufacturers such as BAE Systems, Thales and Finmeccanica, and surveillance companies such as Gamma Group and The Hacking Team.
ENDS
For further information please contact Andrew at media(at)caat·org·uk or call 020 7281 0297.
