The U.K. government has been informed it is in breach of national, European Union (EU), and international law and may face legal action by supplying British-made missiles and military equipments to Saudi Arabia that might have been used to kill civilians. The accusation comes after human right groups, the European parliament and the U.N., expressed concerned about Saudi's human rights violations in Yemen.
The legal proceeding are being carried by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) NGO against the U.K.'s Department for Business, Innovations and Skills, which approves export licences. The leading proceeding accuses the Department of failing in its legal duty to prevent and suppress violations of international humanitarian law, the Guardian reported.
In the legal warning, the CAAT has given the U.K. government 14 days to halt the export licences of military equipments to Saudi Arabia or face proceedings in the high court to explain what steps it has taken to ensure that the U.K. military equipments are not being used in breach of international law.
According to Independent, the legal proceeding cites article two of the EU Council Common Position on arms sales which states that the U.K. is compelled to exercise special caution and vigilence in issuing licences, specifically when it comes to countries where serious violations of human rights have been established.
The article also states that Member States of the EU shall deny an export licence if there is a clear risk that the military technology or equipment to be exported might be used in the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian law.
Andrew Smith of CAAT said that the U.K.'s weapons have been central to a bombing campaign that has killed thousands of people, destroyed vital infrastructure and inflamed tensions in the region. Smith said that the U.K. government has been complicit in the destruction by continuing to support airstrikes and provide arms, despite strong and increasing evidence that war crimes are being committed.
The CAAT said that Saudi Arabia has been a major buyer of the U.K. military equipments since 1960s, Express reported. The NGO estimates that the U.K. government has licensed the sale of over £5.6 billion ($6.1 billion) of military equipments to Saudi Arabia since Prime Minister David Cameron took office in 2010.
Concerns about Saudi's human rights record raised after the recent execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr along with 46 other people earlier this month. In recent Saudi war, the kingdom's airstrikes on Yemen have killed more than 7,500 people and injured over 14,000 others.
Following the mass executions, Belgium have announced it would ban arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Germany has been reluctant to sell weapons to the kingdom, losing millions of euros in trade deals.
