AOC Europe 2021

That this House opposes the planned staging of the AOC Europe 2021 electronic warfare event, organised by Clarion Defence and Security, at Liverpool’s Arena and Convention Centre (ACC) in October 2021; notes that that event will bring together many of the biggest global arms companies with government and military officials attending from across the world; further notes that that event will showcase and display a wide range of armaments and military equipment; notes that such military equipment being showcased has been used, and continues to be used, by regimes that have abused human rights and civil liberties; recognises that the use of such military equipment inevitably exacerbates the potential for conflict and undermines the search for peaceful solutions to international problems; further recognises that communities in Liverpool have proudly stood with those suffering injustice for many years and agrees that the staging of that event is an affront to the city’s shared values; calls on ACC Liverpool Group to reconsider hosting that event, and any future events, which undermine the city’s commitment to peace and human rights; and urges ACC Liverpool Group to work with Liverpool City Council to develop and adopt an ethical charter as company policy.