The high court has ruled that UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia can continue after humanitarian concerns from Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT).
The case was reviewed due to the widespread concern over the high number of civilian deaths in Yemen.
“We have concluded that the material decisions of the Secretary of State were lawful. We therefore dismiss the claim.” said Lord Justice Burnett, speaking in London’s high court.
Speaking of the crisis in Yemen, Frank Gardner from the BBC said: “For more than two years now the Saudis have been conducting air strikes there against Houthi rebels but the UN blames these attacks for the majority of civilian deaths. Monday’s verdict could have far-reaching consequences for Britain’s relations with its Gulf Arab allies.”
Saudi Arabia has bought over £3 billion worth of British arms in the past two years, much of which has contributed to civilian deaths in Yemen.
Whilst UK and EU arms sales rules say that export licences cannot be granted if there is a “clear risk” that the arms purchased could be used to break the international humanitarian law, sales of UK arms to Saudi Arabia are set to continue after the judge’s hearing in the high court.
Judges in the case said that “closed material provides valuable additional support for the conclusion that the decisions taken by the secretary of state not to suspend or cancel arms sales to Saudi Arabia were rational”.
The Campaign Against the Arms Trade has said that the coalition was guilty of “repeated and serious breaches” of international humanitarian law, and is creating a humanitarian catastrophe, which has left 80 percent of the population in need of aid.
UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia has been widely criticised from sources including MPs from business and international development parliamentary select committees.