• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Britain acted unlawfully on Saudi arms exports, court rules

A British court on Thursday ruled that the British government had acted unlawfully in allowing arms exports to Saudi Arabia that might have been used in the conflict in Yemen. “The Court of Appeal has concluded that the process of decision-making by the government was wrong in law in one significant respect,” judge said as […]

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
2019-06-20 10:42
in News, Politics, World News
Credit;Reuters

Credit;Reuters

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

A British court on Thursday ruled that the British government had acted unlawfully in allowing arms exports to Saudi Arabia that might have been used in the conflict in Yemen.

“The Court of Appeal has concluded that the process of decision-making by the government was wrong in law in one significant respect,” judge said as he handed down the ruling.

He added that the government made “no concluded assessments of whether the Saudi-led coalition had committed violations of international humanitarian law in the past, during the Yemen conflict.”

Credit;Reuters

“The decision of the court today does not mean that licenses to export arms to Saudi Arabia must immediately be suspended,” he said.

“It does mean that the UK government must reconsider the matter, must make the necessary assessments about past episodes of concern, allowing for the fact that, in some cases, it will not be possible to reach a conclusion.”

The UN World Food Programme has warned that 10 million Yemenis are “one step away from famine.”

The case was brought by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade against the British government.

RelatedPosts

Russia seeks closer ties with North Korea

Gove stuck in 30 hour delay caused by Brexit-related travel chaos

Footage of Boris Johnson shopping on holiday tells you everything you need to know

JK Rowling targetted following stabbing of Sir Salman Rushdie

The Saudi military is waging a war in Yemen which has killed tens of thousands of people and created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) appealed against a judgment by the High Court on 10 July 2017 which ruled that the granting of licences for the export of arms from the UK to Saudi Arabia is lawful, despite global concern that these weapons could be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law.

Lawyers Leigh Day, representing CAAT, argued that the decision to grant the licences is unlawful as it is in breach of the UK arms export policy, which clearly states the government must deny such licences if there is a ‘clear risk’ arms ‘might’ be used in ‘a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law’.

The judicial review brought against the Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox MP, over his decision to allow these export licences to be granted, follows serious allegations that Saudi forces might have used UK arms in serious violations of international humanitarian law during their ongoing bombardment of Yemen. A range of international organisations including a UN Expert Panel, the European Parliament and many humanitarian NGOs, have condemned the ongoing Saudi air strikes against Yemen as unlawful.

UK government statistics show that since the bombardment began in 2015, the UK has licensed £4.7 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia, including:

• £2.8 billion worth of ML10 licences (Aircraft, helicopters, drones)

• £1.9 billion worth of ML4 licences (Grenades, bombs, missiles, countermeasures)

In reality the figures could be a great deal higher, with most bombs and missiles being licensed via the opaque and secretive Open Licence system.

The verdict follows a three-day hearing in the Court of Appeal, which took place between 9 and 11 April 2019. Half of the hearings were conducted in ‘closed sessions.’ Neither the claimant nor their lawyers were able to be present for these ‘closed’ sessions.

Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade said: “UK-made weapons have played a central role in the four-year Saudi-led bombardment of Yemen. The results have been catastrophic, with tens of thousands of people killed and vital infrastructure destroyed. We believe that these arms sales are immoral.”

As well as the war in Yemen and blockade that imperils millions of civilian lives, the Saudi regime has reportedly detained eight people over their links to women’s rights activists. Those arrested are said to include writers and a pregnant woman. The arrests are said to be the first sweep of targeted arrests since the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 which the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions linked to the Crown Prince.

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/boris-johnson-14k-free-trip-to-saudi-arabia-two-weeks-before-jamal-khashoggi-murder/31/10/
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/italy-unions-refuse-to-load-saudi-ship-in-protest-over-yemen-war/19/06/
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/uk-urged-to-stop-saudi-arms-sales-as-latest-yemen-assault-threatens-one-of-worst-famines-world-has-seen/13/11/

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Labour MP asks whether US-born Boris should be deported for breaking the law

London’s best new restaurant openings – September 2020

Charlton fan “threw punch” at Crystal Palace’s eagle

WHO chief backs Neil Young in Spotify row with Joe Rogan

France fast tracks citizenship for migrants working on the front line during Covid crisis

Nurses pay rise worth less than half a roll of Downing Street wallpaper

Restaurant Review – Spice Market

Gallery: Converge – Electric Ballroom

HIV-positive father of three jailed for infecting unsuspecting women

Ground Rents fund reinstates its double or inflation offer

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.