Britain’s defence partnership with the United Arab Emirates, encompassing arms supply, joint facilities and technical support, has tied UK policy to a key regional ally whose role in conflicts from Yemen to Sudan raises mounting concerns over indirect complicity in civilian harm and embargo violations.

An AOAV analysis of 10,779 English-language reports finds that, despite more than 114,000 civilian casualties across Ukraine, Palestine, Sudan and Myanmar since 2022, just 11 per cent of coverage names the weapon used, with meaningful attribution largely confined to Ukraine, leaving the systems, manufacturers and supply chains driving civilian harm elsewhere largely obscured from scrutiny and accountability.

Record arms industry revenues have surged to $679 billion on the back of wars in Ukraine, Gaza and elsewhere, enriching shareholders while civilians bear the overwhelming burden of explosive violence and prompting AOAV to call for stricter arms controls, greater transparency and a shift from profiting from war to protecting civilians.

The Sudan conflict has caused an estimated 61,000 deaths in Khartoum State over 14 months, with widespread starvation, disease, and unrecorded fatalities highlighting a humanitarian crisis overshadowed by global inaction.