News - Yemen: Yemeni community joined protests outside the High Court in London over the Government's sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia.

Campaign against arms trade (CAAT) launched legal action against the Government over licensing arms sales to Saudi Arabia for use in its war with Yemen. CAAT notes since the start of the war with Yemen in 2015, the UK has licensed over £23bn worth of arms to the Saudi regime.

CAAT argues UK arms contribute to breaches of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. In 2019, CAAT won that case against the Government, with the Court of Appeal finding arms sales were “irrational and therefore unlawful”. However, after a review, then Secretary of State Liz Truss, decided to resume sales on the basis any breaches of IHL were “isolated incidents”.

Arms such as Typhoon and Tornado aircrafts and bombs such as the Paveway IV have been licenced and sold to Saudi Arabia and used in airstrikes in Yemen. Oxfam Peace and Conflict Advisor, Martin Buther concluded: "In Yemen, devastating attacks on civilians have been commonplace, leading to death and injury, forcing millions of people to flee their homes.

Recently, the non-governmental organization, Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), a UK-based organization, filed the lawsuit, accusing the British government of contributing to the violation of international law and causing the largest humanitarian disaster in the world that results in the death of tens of thousands of people.

The legal review is expected to take until the end of the week.

The organization filed the lawsuit after Britain announced, in the summer of 2020, the resumption of arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Ahead of the hearing, the organization's media coordinator, Emily Apple, accused the British government of caring "more about profit than war crimes and the deaths of civilians".

The organization first won its case against the government in 2019, when an appeals court ruled that Britain's license to sell arms to Saudi Arabia was illegal.

The Court said the government had failed to assess whether the arms sales violated its commitment to human rights and ordered it to "reconsider the matter".

During her tenure at the Department of International Trade, Liz Truss conducted a review and announced in 2020 that export licenses would resume.
Truss stressed that Riyadh has a real intention and ability to comply with international humanitarian law, despite isolated incidents.

The organisation accused Truss of having "only verbally supported" a review of the arms sales.

A spokeswoman for the organisation described Truss's reference to "isolated incidents" as "utter nonsense and deeply insulting to all Yemenis whose lives have been destroyed by British weapons".

CAAT stated that, since 2015, the British government has licensed the sale of weapons to Riyadh, including combat aircraft, guided bombs and missiles, at a value of £7.9 billion pounds ($9.8 billion).

It added that Britain is one of the largest arms suppliers to Saudi Arabia, along with the US.

Martin Butcher, Oxfam's Peace and Conflict Adviser, said Saudi airstrikes were responsible for a significant proportion of the attacks on civilians in Yemen.

"It is necessary to examine the legality of British arms sales and stop it immediately," he added.
In 2021, charities criticised the British government for reducing its humanitarian aid to Yemen to half.

Source: Echo

#Yemen #UK #Protest #Arms Sale #US-Saudi Aggression #Saudi Arabia About 1 year