- Campaign Against Arms Trade’s (CAAT) legal case against the government concluded today (2nd February) at the High Court, shrouded in secrecy, with campaigners denied access to court. The court entered closed sessions on the afternoon of 1st February with neither CAAT nor its lawyers allowed access the material discussed. CAAT is represented by Special Advocates with security clearance during this part of the case.
- CAAT is challenging these arms sales over their use in multiple breaches of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Yemen. Since the conflict began in 2015, the UK has sold over £23bn of arms to the Saudi regime. 8,983 civilians have been killed in air strikes on civilian targets by the Saudi coalition, with bomb strikes hitting hospitals, weddings, funerals and key infrastructure. Millions are facing famine and the situation in Yemen has been described as one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.
- On the last day of open hearings, the government’s lawyer, Sir James Eadie, argued that harm to civilians didn’t require “anxious scrutiny” because the people facing harm in Yemen are not under UK jurisdiction. He further argued that the hundreds of credible allegations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) weren’t many and that the findings from the UN panel of experts should be treated with caution as “they will not have the relevant expertise and experience” needed to assess IHL violations. This is despite the panel being made up of military and IHL experts, including former senior military advisor Professor Charles Garraway.
Emily Apple, spokesperson for CAAT stated:
“It is alarming that there appears to be so much closed evidence that we are not allowed to see, including even the figure for the “small number” of possible IHL violations the government claims to have identified. This means we are not able to analyse what’s being said and the people in Yemen are prevented from knowing exactly how this government justifies the arms sales that have devastated their lives. This is not justice.
“The horrific remarks made by Sir James to the court on 1st February reflect the government’s utter contempt for Yemeni lives. He essentially said it doesn’t matter that Yemeni people are being killed because they don’t have the same legal protections that require scrutiny under British law.
“His comments also made it clear that the UK government trusts the Saudi government more than it does eminent UN experts and renowned human rights organisations collating evidence on the ground. It’s clear that the government is picking and choosing how it records violations of IHL in order to continue lining the pockets of arms dealers.
“Whatever the outcome of this case, it’s important to remember that this government has made a decision to put profit before lives, and we will keep doing everything we can, in solidarity with the Yemeni people, to stop these sales”.
CAAT is expecting a judgement in two to six months.
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