France’s embarrassing silence in the face of war crimes and torture perpetrated by the United Arab Emirates



Antoine Besson







Beaten, electrocuted, hung by their feet, raped: hundreds of them disappeared in detention centres in South Yemen. These “secret prisons”, denounced by NGOs since 2016, are controlled by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a military ally of France. On November 21, President Macron received the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi in Paris to testify to “the strength of the partnership and historical ties between France and the UAE”. A partnership based on commercial ties, arms sales and military cooperation with an army that is likely to be guilty of war crimes.





While Saudi Arabia is often promoted as the leader of the coalition of Arab countries at war in Yemen since March 2015, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is also very active in this deadly conflict. The Emirati army is participating alongside the Saudis in the bombardments that have killed thousands of civilians or in the blockade that is starving the population. The Emirates are distinguished from Riyadh by the strong presence of their troops on the ground. In the south of the country, they have created a parallel security structure, independent of the Yemeni government, and a network of detention centres where hundreds of people are tortured and illegally detained.

The stories of the ex-prisoners are extremely brutal: grilling, electrocution, sexual assaults, prolonged isolation…. Former prisoners in central Riyan say they have been “crammed into containers, covered with faeces, blindfolded for weeks on end”[1]. Since 2016, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Associated Press journalists and UN experts have been denouncing atrocities committed in the UAE’s “secret prisons” in Yemen. “They are called secret prisons because the official Yemeni authorities do not have access to them. Those arrested are detained, sometimes for years, without their families being informed. They are simply made to disappear, out of any procedure,” says Rawya Rageh, Amnesty International’s Crisis Advisor.

The Emiratis deny their involvement, as demonstrated by satellite images

The Emirates deny any link with these prisons, but satellite images analysed by Amnesty show the presence of detention cells inside UAE bases, particularly in Aden. Other centres are located in more informal locations – former hotels, nightclubs or other buildings – and managed by UAE-controlled security forces, over which the Yemeni government claims it has no control. The report of the UN Group of Regional and International Experts, published on 28 August, also considers that these centres are “under the control of the United Arab Emirates”[2].

Following the publication of several articles and NGO reports, the Emirates released dozens of prisoners and brought some centres, including Bir Ahmed, under the control of the official authorities. “But in reality, even in these cases, the Emiratis still have direct access,” says Rawya Rageh. In March 2018, during a raid by the Emirates in Bir Ahmed, nearly 200 detainees were reportedly sexually assaulted and raped by penetration with fingers, tools and sticks.

“Those who are mistreated and tortured are time bombs”

Officially, the Emirati forces are conducting anti-terrorist operations to fight al-Qaida and the Islamic state. But most often, however, detentions are quite arbitrary. “Some are arrested because a member of their family is accused of terrorism. Sometimes all the men in the same family are captured. It is a system that relies heavily on informants, so there are also cases of personal revenge. And there is no procedure to defend yourself,” says Rawya Rageh. Activists and critics of the Arab coalition operating in Yemen are also reportedly targeted. Human Rights Watch has identified minors among former detainees.

For a Yemeni Interior Ministry official interviewed by Amnesty International, this repression leads more to the creation of terrorism than to its elimination: “Those who are mistreated and tortured are time bombs”. “We are facing very serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, which can never be justified, whether in the context of war or the fight against terrorism,” Rawya Rageh continued. In the case of Yemen, we are in a context of armed conflict, and these abuses should therefore be treated as potential war crimes.

In 2017, France is delivering 226.8 million euros worth of military equipment to Abu Dhabi

Despite the Emirates’ methods, France presents Abu Dhabi as a strategic partner in the fight against terrorism. What helps to justify France’s arms sales to the Emirates: “If arms have been sold in the past to this coalition, there were good reasons for this. (…) There is of course the fight against terrorism. Let us not forget that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula represents a direct threat against France (…) Apart from the Americans, who fights against this organization? It is the United Arab Emirates, which uses Mirages,” said Army Minister Florence Parly in the National Assembly last July.

It does not matter whether these Mirages are used in the deadly war against the Houthis in Yemen, or whether the Emirates’ fight against terrorism involves enforced disappearances and torture. From 2013 to 2017, France was the second largest arms supplier to the UAE after the United States. In 2017, when the Emirates’ exactions were known, Paris delivered 226.8 million euros worth of military equipment to Abu Dhabi[3].

Close military and industrial cooperation

Franco-Emirati military cooperation is extremely strong. The two countries are bound by a defence agreement. Abu Dhabi is home to France’s only permanent military base abroad, outside Africa. Despite the war in Yemen, the bombing of civilians, the blockade and the widespread use of torture, French soldiers are training with the Emirati troops. From 28 August to 17 September 2018, the 9th edition of the El-Himeimat exercise was held, a joint training session that takes place twice a year, with the aim of “strengthening Franco-Emirati cooperation and the interoperability of the two armies”. The French army perfected its techniques for firing, securing areas, or fighting in urban areas. Alongside the Emirati forces.

The French interest seems as safe as it is commercial. Our military base is presented to Parliament as a “showcase of choice for our equipment”. “Abu Dhabi is a global arms trading centre,” confirms Tony Fortin, a researcher at the Arms Observatory. “We want our weapons to be present there, so that others can buy them later. In Orient XXI, the researcher looks back at the cooperation between France and the UAE in the military field, the joint ventures (joint companies) of Thales, Safran or Airbus on site, or the sharing of innovation in the fields of communication or surveillance satellites. Such a close cooperation that Manuhrin, a French manufacturer of machines for the production of ammunition, will be taken over by the Emirates defense industries company (EDIC) group.

The United States Congress calls for accountability, France remains silent

“Given the nature of some violations, such as systematic torture, countries have an obligation to put an end to them, including the Emirates’ allies,” said Rawya Rageh. Countries that are signatories to the Convention against Torture must ensure compliance with it. “In the United States, the Emirates’ main partner in the fight against terrorism, the situation is becoming embarrassing. To the extent that Congress has requested an assessment of the operations of Americans and their allies in Yemen, including anti-terrorist cooperation and the risks of involvement in these enforced disappearances and large-scale torture practices. The Trump administration is resisting, but parliamentarians want it to be held accountable.

In France, complaints were lodged against Mohammed Bin Zayed, Crown Prince and Minister of Defence of Abu Dhabi, by human rights NGOs during his visit last November. The Sultan is accused of “complicity in acts of torture and enforced disappearance” and “complicity in torture and war crimes”. Nevertheless, the French State does not seem ready to react[4]. “The problem remains: there are hundreds of missing persons in Yemen, no responsibility, no compensation for those who are finally released after years of arbitrary detention and torture. As long as the perpetrators of these crimes are not held accountable, they can be repeated, Rawya Raghet worries. We call on countries that provide arms or military assistance to the belligerents in Yemen to stop. In particular France, which has a strong relationship with the Emirates. »







