Is the UK government turning a blind eye to war crime in Yemen?

The UK government has been accused of turning a blind eye to the current situation arising in Yemen through their arms trade deals with Saudi which is currently taking place.

Following this the government has been urged by MP's in a recent House of Commons debate to 'immediately suspend the sales of arms in order to avoid worsening the humanitarian crisis in Yemen'.

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What has been going on in Yemen?

Yemen has been in conflict for over five years in what itself has been dubbed as a proxy war, which has resulted in a constant increase in casualties with figures exceeding well over 100,000 people. The conflict has arisen from an attempt by Saudi Arabia to reinstate Yemen's internationally recognised government after much of the state had been seized and thereafter occupied by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Further devastating consequences from the war has been a famine growth in Yemen with over '13 million people on the brink of starvation'. Charity UNICEF have also reported 'approximately 80% of Yemen's population, or 24 million people rely on aid' which shows the large-scale effect on the country with it being considered one of the largest humanitarian crisis in the world at the current moment.

The UK has been one of the largest arms suppliers to Saudi Arabia having sold them in excess of £5 billion worth of weapons which includes fighter jets and missiles since the period commencing 2015. Although a court ruling on exports had led to a suspension of new arm trade sales to Saudi Arabia last year, in July of this year the government had resumed their on-going support for Saudi Arabia.

MP’s have called for the government to halt the agreed trades in order to 'restrict Saudi Arabia's ability to carry out air strikes on Yemenis and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis'. Labour MP Sam Tarry suggested his disappointment on the action having stated that many of his constituents believed the government "should hang its head in shame at its central role in helping to create the world's worst humanitarian crisis by training, equipping and enabling the Saudi regime to bomb innocent Yemeni civilians". This argument had also been supported by a Scottish National Party MP Kirsten Oswald who agreed by stating it was "beyond my comprehension" as to why the UK had resumed arms sales with Saudi Arabia considering the circumstances.

When questioned on the arms trade agreement, Middle East minister James Cleverly who responded on behalf of the government had recognised the concerns which had arisen from many MP’s regarding the United Kingdom’s arms sales policy. After a review had taken place on the matter he stated the restoration of the previously suspended deal had been "in the light of the Court of Appeal decision, and all sales are measured against the revised set of criteria". The CAAT (Campaign Against Arms Trade) which is a non-profit and non-governmental organisation is considering this new decision and exploring all the options which are presented in order to challenge it. Having seen the magnitude of the damage which has been caused from this ongoing conflict the organisation is calling out for fundamental change to prevent further use of force from the state.

The United Nations have recognised the growing famine and shown extreme worry which may also be a factor to indicate the involvement from the government for their actions nonetheless the UK has admitted there are hundreds of incidents where the Saudi-led coalition has violated international law and despite this the government has still given their support. This indicates awareness of the crisis as well as the consequences arising from the agreement restoration, which has been shown by the influx of airstrikes arising from Saudi Arabia in Yemen since the ban was lifted as of July 2020.