State Department Motion to Dismiss the Complaint

The government submits that the plaintiffs do not have standing and that the claim raises a non-justiciable political question that is subject to the unreviewable discretion of the State.nn

More specifically, the government maintains that the sale of arms to the UAE had been properly evaluated and reviewed by the State Department and Congress and it had been determined that the sale would advance US strategic objectives and foreign policy interests. The main argument submitted was that the plaintiffs do not have standing to challenge State Department authorisations. Of particular note, it was argued that the plaintiffs had failed to show that the US had caused any injury to the survivors and victims of the UAE air strikes, or that they would suffer from imminent injury as a result of the US government’s actions as these relate to actions of the UAE and causation was not established. The standing of the two organisational plaintiffs (NYCFPA and HRS) was also denied due to a lack of interest. It was also submitted that the claim does not fall within the ‘zone of interest’ of the AECA and that regardless it raises a non-justiciable political question that is subject to the unreviewable discretion of the State Department.