Belgium

In December, a Belgian civil court heardr the arguments by a coalition of Belgian NGOs to end the export of military components to the Turkish air force. Earlier in 2021, WRI’s affiliate Vredesactie together with CNAPD and supported by Amnesty International Belgium, sued the Flemish government for its involvement in the production of the Turkish A400M military transport planes. As the court session was taking place activists organised a protest in front of  the Palace of Justice in Brussels. They demanded an end to arms exports to conflict areas and stricter controls on the end use of Flemish arms exports. Read more here.

Activists demand better control on the end-use of Flemish arms exports.

A new report by the Belgian organisation Vredesactie has documented a wide range of Belgian weapons and ammunition used by the Saudi National Guard in a military operation in Yemen.

A new report published by an international coalition of peace organisations explores the way arms companies in Europe and Israel are fuelling violence in Mexico.

On Monday 14th September a number of peace and human rights organisations in Belgium launched a new procedure at the Council of State, pushing for the suspension of all permits allowing companies to export weapons to Saudi Arabia.

FN Herstal (“Fabrique National Herstal”) is a Belgian arms company that specialises In producing rifles and handguns. The company was founded in 1889 and is owned - via a holding company called Herstal Group – by the regional government of Wallonia.

Nexter Systems is a French state-owned company building a wide range of military vehicles, artillery, weapons and ammunition used by the French military and sold around the world.

Activist in Belgium have successfully stopped a Saudi ship transporting weapons from the US, Canada and Europe from docking in the port of Antwerp.

As hundreds of arms dealers prepared to gather for the annual European Defence Agency conference, hundreds of posters appeared throughout the European quarter in Brussels protesting the arms industry and its CEOs’ complicity in arming dictatorial regimes and in the militarisation of European borders.

As Turkey begins its military attack on Kurdish regions in northern Syria, leaving dozens killed and tens of thousands fleeing their homes, activists are taking action against arms shipments to the Turkish military, and some states are responding by suspending arms shipments.

Members of the European Parliament joined members of Agir Pour la Paix, one of WRI's Belgian affiliates, in occupying the runway of the Kleine-Brogel military base, in protest of the ongoing siting of US nuclear missiles there, one month ahead of a NATO summit in Brussels.

Belgian company CMI Defence and French company Thales have announced new agreements with Saudi Arabia, in response to a new Saudi program of investment in industry and infrastructure.