Britain must end arms sales to Saudi Arabia
SIR – The Middle East is in a geopolitical and very human crisis. In our interconnected world, it is in all our interests that the region be stable. We are therefore deeply concerned that the Government seems to be more focused on selling arms to Saudi Arabia for use in its bombing campaign in Yemen (report, November 15) than it is about our strategic interest in a stable Middle East.
More than 18 months of bombing and fighting have created a catastrophe in parts of Yemen. Civilians are paying the price. Within weeks of the campaign starting, the number of military targets was, we understand, rapidly reduced – but the bombing continues. The UN reports that airstrikes by the Saudi coalition are the main cause of civilian deaths in the conflict. Civilian casualties breed a desire for revenge. We have seen what politically motivated military action in this region can lead to.
The British Government has long recognised the need for rules on international arms sales. It lobbied for – and incorporated into British law – the UN’s Arms Trade Treaty, which prohibits the sale of arms where there is a risk of breaches of international humanitarian law. In Yemen it is clear that Saudi Arabia, and all other parties, have breached and continue to breach that law. The Government’s refusal to accept this represents a triumph of self-deception.
The Government must suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia until an independent UN investigation is completed, and hold back future sales until there are guarantees that the kingdom is not breaching the rules of war. Atrocities in Yemen, conducted with British arms or support, damage Britain’s credibility and moral authority. The Government needs to stop being an arms broker and start being a peace broker, not only for the sake of its reputation but for the sake of civilians in Yemen – and, ultimately, our own security. Lord Paddy Ashdown (Lib Dem) Margaret Beckett MP (Lab) Professor Richard Caplan University of Oxford and 11 others; see telegraph.co.uk