The UK armed forces are providing military training to at least 17 out of the 30 countries the UK government has put on a watch list for alleged human rights violations, The Independent newspaper reported
LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th August, 2020) The UK armed forces are providing military training to at least 17 out of the 30 countries the UK government has put on a watch list for alleged human rights violations, The Independent newspaper reported.
According to the paper's report, published on Wednesday, countries whose soldiers have been trained by UK military from 2018 to 2020 are: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Colombia, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Maldives, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe.
"Other countries with poor human rights records not on the UK's watch list were also given training, including Oman, Qatar, Turkey, the UAE, and the Philippines," it added.
The news outlet said the information was revealed in response to a written parliamentary question filed by lawmaker Sam Tarry, from the Labour Party, adding that the Ministry of Defense said any training being provided by the UK armed forces to other countries is kept under review.
The paper also cited Campaign Against Arms Trade activist Andrew Smith, who accused the UK government of hypocrisy and asked for a full review of the military forces the United Kingdom has been training.
