Three NGOs decided to take legal action in France against the companies of Dassault, Thalès, and MBDA France. The companies are accused of complicity in war crimes due to their arms sales contracts to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which used the weapons against Yemeni civilians in the Saudi-led aggression on Yemen.

A member of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), Canel Lavit, who is also one of the civil parties that filed a complaint against the three companies, explained that "export arms to the coalition (led by Saudi Arabia), knowing that she has been committing war crimes since 2015 in Yemen.” These companies are also accused of complicity in crimes against humanity.

Another group, the Center for Rights and Development “Eye of humanity” declared earlier last month, May, that “the total number of martyrs and wounded during the 2,600 days of coalition aggression against Yemen ( at the time), reached 46,374, including 17,775 martyrs and 28,599 wounded."

Prior to those statements, the UN had declared Yemen at risk of the largest feminine in modern history with over 25.5 million Yemenis living below the poverty line as a result of a bloody war that has extended for over 7 years.

See more: Yemen: 7 years and the aggression is ongoing

Dassault had sold UAE 80 Rafale aircraft used in the coalition’s aggression on Yemen and aided in the maintenance of 59 Mirage planes that resulted in the death of several Yemeni civilians. As for MDPA France, they have exported “Storm Shadow” and “Scalp” missiles for coalition forces, whereas Thales is accused of providing the coalition with Damocles and Talios missile guidance systems.

“If we provide arms to an entity suspected of having committed repeated crimes, we facilitate the commission of these crimes,” Ms. Lavit stressed.

Previously, in 2019, Mouwatana, Amnesty International, ECCHR, and two other NGOs filed a complaint with International Criminal Court against 11 European arms companies including Dassault, Thales, and MBDA. 

Furthermore, Mouwatana and two other NGOs have been suing RWM Italia, in Italy, under charges of supplying the Saudi-led coalition with the bombs that murdered 6 civilians, 4 of which were children, in an attack in northern Yemen.