Arms to Syria briefing

This Oxfam and Saferworld briefing examines the implications of arms transfers to Syria. It provides a short analysis of the context in Syria, followed by a review of the political risks and humanitarian implications of supplying arms, and concludes with a review of the legal constraints on UK arms transfers to Syria (including a detailed annex on EU member states’ legal and policy frameworks for arms transfers).

Based on this analysis, the briefing concludes that:

• Transfers of arms to any and all parties to the conflict in Syria would be likely to violate the UK’s obligations under international law.
• Arms transfers to armed opposition groups will not ‘balance the equation’ or make a political solution more likely. To the contrary, they are likely to make the current arms race in Syria worse and to prolong the conflict and increase displacement, death, and human suffering.
• International efforts should instead be focused on bringing the parties to the conflict together at the earliest possible moment to negotiate a political solution to the crisis.