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UK NGO urges end to arming Saudi Arabia over rights record

Friday, 25 March 2016 10:12 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 25 March 2016 10:11 AM ]

Yemeni children walk on stones in front of buildings that were damaged by airstrikes carried out by Saudi Arabia on March 23, 2016 in the UNESCO-listed old city of Yemeni capital Sana'a. (AFP photo)

The Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) condemns the UK government for arming the “repressive” Saudi Arabia, urging an end to complicity in Saudi repression of its people and its aggression against Yemen.

The UK-based organization said Saudi Arabia is the UK's biggest arms customer.

It described the UK’s relation with Riyadh as the “most shameful” as its arms sales support “one of the world's most authoritarian regimes” to repress its people, and conduct airstrikes in Yemen that breach international humanitarian law.

“Not only does it brutally repress its own population, it has used UK weapons to help crush democracy protests in Bahrain; now UK-made warplanes are playing a central role in Saudi Arabia's attacks in Yemen,” CAAT said.

The organization further said the arms sales violate UK’s own guidelines on arms sales as well as European and international law, warning that such support for the Saudi regime makes London “complicit in its wrongs.”

The organization also said it has started "formal legal action in the High Court to challenge the government's decision to export arms to Saudi Arabia” as London stands defiant against calls to suspend its arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

On March 22, Amnesty International also called on the United States and Britain to halt their arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia, as Riyadh continues its brutal military campaign against Yemen.

Amnesty criticized Riyadh for “repeatedly” using prohibited cluster munitions in attacks that have “killed and maimed civilians.”

Riyadh has been under fire for violating international humanitarian law since the start of its campaign in Yemen last March. But the kingdom has not responded to reports of violations.

Human Rights Watch has also called for an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia, calling on the US, the UK, France and all other nations to suspend the sale of arms to Riyadh until it “not only curtails its unlawful airstrikes in Yemen but also credibly investigates alleged violations.”

Last month, the European Parliament called for a European Union-wide arms embargo against Riyadh.

Yemen has been under military attacks by Saudi Arabia since late March last year. At least 8,400 people, among them 2,236 children, have been killed so far.

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