Submission to District Court of Noord Holland appealing the Decision of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

The claimants formally appeal against the decision of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of 1 June 2016 on the ‘notice of objection’, raising concerns around the risks that the military equipment that is being licensed by the Netherlands will be misused by the Egyptian navy, particularly in the commission of human rights and IHL violations in Yemen and in Egypt. In turn, it is submitted that the decision to issue a licence for arms exports to Egypt violates the human rights law and other international law obligations of the state. In particular, the claimants respond to the Minister’s decision that the notice of objection is inadmissible due to a lack of standing, and submit that they have standing to bring this case on the basis of their ‘general and collective interest’ in the licence.