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Human rights groups launch fresh challenge to Britain's arms sales to Saudis

HUMAN rights groups have launched a fresh legal challenge to the British government’s arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Rights Watch UK will be backing a Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) case to “test the legality” of the government issuing licenses for arms deals with King Salman’s regime.

Last year, the High Court dismissed CAAT’s claims that arms sales should be halted because of the likelihood that British weapons received by Saudi Arabia would be used to commit war crimes and other gross violations of international law.

However, CAAT has successfully appealed the ruling, and will go to the Court of Appeal in April 2019.

The groups will provide expert submissions in the case, and will seek to confront officials and ministers with what they will claim is the reality of their decisions to allow arms to go to Saudi Arabia.

Since Saudi Arabia entered the conflict in Yemen in March 2015, more than 7,500 Yemeni civilians have been killed, with millions more on the brink of starvation.

The United Nations has concluded that the majority of casualties in the conflict have been due to bombing raids undertaken by the Saudi-led military coalition.

Since then, Germany, Greece and Norway have all cancelled or suspended various arms contracts to the country.

Amnesty International’s British legal programme director Rachel Logan said: “We strongly believe the UK’s sale of arms to Saudi Arabia is in clear breach of both the UK’s own law and international law.

“The risk of UK arms sold to Saudi Arabia being used in unlawful attacks in Yemen could hardly be much starker.

“Extensive and credible reports [have] demonstrated that such weapons have been used to commit serious violations, including war crimes, against civilians in Yemen and that in light of the clear risk, authorising further exports would be counter to the UK’s obligations under international law.

“It shouldn’t need a legal challenge to get ministers to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia, but it seems to be the only way to get the government to finally do the right thing.”

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