Prime Minister Theresa May has expressed disappointment over the court's ruling and said her government would seek permission to appeal. Campaigners say the UK-Saudi arms deal violates international humanitarian law.
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A court of appeal in London on Thursday declared the sale of weapons by the UK to Saudi Arabia unlawful because of the Yemen conflict.
The court accepted the challenge brought by Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) that accused the UK government of licensing the arms sale when there is a clear risk that the weapons use could breach international humanitarian law.
In its judgment, the court ruled that "the process of decision-making by the government was wrong in law in one significant respect."
Judges said licenses must be reviewed but would not be immediately suspended.
CAAT research coordinator Sam Perlo-Freeman told DW that the verdict shows the "the government must now go back and retake all its decisions based on a proper assessment of the evidence of past violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) by the Saudi-led coalition."
British Prime Minister Theresa May said she was disappointed and that her government would appeal.
"This judgement is not about whether the decisions themselves were right or wrong, but whether the process in reaching those decisions was correct," a spokeswoman for the Department for Trade said.
"We disagree with the judgment and will be seeking permission to appeal."
In its legal challenge against the UK-Saudi arms deal, CAAT argued that British bombs and fighter jets are fueling violence in Yemen.
Yemen has been torn apart by a protracted civil war between the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the Shiite Houthi rebels.
In support of the Hadi government, Riyadh launched an air campaign against the Houthis in March 2015. Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of backing the rebels, who have made significant territorial gains in the impoverished Middle Eastern country.
Perlo-Freeman commented that the UK ruling was a "moral victory," that "adds to the growing momentum, in the US and Europe, to halt arms sales to the Saudi-led coalition."
In their Thursday judgment, three senior judges said the British government had "made no attempt" to find out whether the Saudi-led coalition had breached international law.
The court said that the government must assess future risks of humanitarian law breaches when deciding whether to allow arms sales.
Arms worth billions
The UK has licensed more than GBP 4.7 billion ($5.9 million, €5.28 billion) of arms exports to Riyadh since the start of the Saudi military campaign in Yemen in March 2015.
According to British media, weapons sold to Saudi Arabia include Typhoon and Tornado fighter jets, as well as precision-guided bombs.
"The UK should withdraw the direct on-the-ground military support to the Saudi Air Force and Coalition provided by BAE Systems, the MOD, and other UK arms companies," said CAAT's Sam Perlo-Freeman.
Yemen: An ever-worsening crisis
Yemen has struggled to cope with crises prompted by its atrocious civil war, including catastrophic hunger and devastating cholera outbreaks. DW examines the conflict and how it affects the country's civilian population.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
War: The 'root cause' of Yemen's disasters
The UN has identified conflict as the "root cause" of Yemen's crises. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the war erupted in 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels launched a campaign to capture the capital, Sanaa. In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition launched a deadly campaign against the rebels, one that has been widely criticized by human rights groups for its high civilian death toll.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
Fighting keeps food from the famished
The conflict has prevented humanitarian aid from reaching large parts of the civilian population, resulting in more than two-thirds of the country's 28 million people being classified as "food insecure." Nearly 3 million children and pregnant or nursing women are acutely malnourished, according to the UN World Food Program.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
Displacement: Converging crises
More than 3 million people have been displaced by conflict, including marginalized communities such as the "Muhammasheen," a minority tribe that originally migrated from Africa. Despite the civil war, many flee conflict in Somalia and head to Yemen, marking the convergence of two major migration crises in the Middle East nation. Yemen hosts around 250,000 Somali refugees, according to UNHCR.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
Cholera: A deadly epidemic
The number of suspected cholera cases has exceeded more than 2 million and least 3,700 people have died from the waterborne bacterial infection in Yemen since October 2019, said the WHO. Although cholera can be easily treated, it can kill within hours when untreated.
Image: Reuters/K. Abdullah
Unsuspecting victims of the'war on terror'
In Yemen, violence goes beyond civil conflict: It is considered a strategic front in the war on terrorism. The country serves as the operational base for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, dubbed the "most dangerous" terrorist group before the rise of the "Islamic State." The US routinely uses drones to target al-Qaida leadership. However, civilians have often been killed in the operations.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Y. Arhab
Children's fate: Future marred by tragedy
In a country paralyzed by conflict, children are one of the most at-risk groups in Yemen. More than 12 million children require humanitarian aid, according to the UN humanitarian coordination agency. The country's education system is "on the brink of collapse," while children are dying of "preventable causes like malnutrition, diarrhea and respiratory tract infections," according to the agency.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Mohammed
Peace: An elusive future
Despite several attempts at UN-backed peace talks, the conflict continues to rage on. Saudi Arabia has vowed to continue supporting the internationally recognized government of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. On the other hand, Houthi rebels have demanded the formation of a unity government in order to move forward on a political solution. A peace deal, however, remains elusive.
