UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia declared unlawful
Last week, our friends at Campaign Against Arms Trade won a historic court case against the UK Government over arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The Court ruled that the Government’s approval of arms sales to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen was unlawful, and that it must halt exports until it reviews the permissions in light of evidence of Saudi violations of international law. The ruling is unprecedented, and really speaks to the collaborative work of grassroots campaigners, lawyers, academic experts, and many others who pitched in to make the case so strong.
But this is just one case. The UK still approves arms exports to dozens of other human rights abusing regimes that use military force to repress protests, to gain territory, and to commit dreadful and illegal violence against civilians. And it will undoubtedly try to resume its exports to Saudi Arabia at the earliest date possible. That’s why we need grassroots pressure now to make this court victory stick, for the people of Yemen and millions of others around the world who are still at risk of being attacked using British made bombs and other weapons.
The UK sells weapons and
military technology to States that commit sustained and grave human
rights abuses, including Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Honduras, the
Philippines, and dozens of other regimes.
The UK must stop arming repression. Will you email your MP, and ask them to pressure the government to end its trade in arms with human rights abusing regimes?
