High Court hearing on arms exports
Arms exports to Saudi Arabia are being scrutinised in the High Court
This week the High Court in London has been hearing a judicial review into the legality of UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia for use in the ongoing bombing of Yemen.
The review follows an application by Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) and it is the first time that UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia have been scrutinised in this way.
The claim being considered calls on the Department of International Trade to suspend all existing licences and stop issuing further arms export licences to Saudi Arabia for equipment for use in Yemen while it holds a full review into the compatibility of the exports with UK and EU legislation.
A range of international organisations, including a UN Panel of Experts, the European Parliament and many humanitarian NGOs, have condemned the ongoing Saudi air strikes against Yemen as unlawful.
They have highlighted a number of violations of international humanitarian law: a failure to take all precautions in attack; attacks causing disproportionate harm to civilians and civilian objects; a failure to adhere to the principle of distinction and/or the targeting of civilians and civilian objects and those not directly participating in hostilities; and the destruction of cultural property and/or a failure to adhere to the immunity to be afforded to such property during armed conflict.
Andrew Smith, of CAAT, said: ‘For almost two years now the UK has been complicit in the destruction of Yemen. UK fighter jets and bombs have played a central role in the bombardment, and UK political support has helped to underpin and legitimise it.
‘We are always being told that the UK stands for free speech and democracy, yet it has sold billions of pounds worth of arms to one of the most brutal and repressive regimes in the world to use against one of the poorest countries in the region.’
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