Brian Whitaker - War crimes in Yemen: a shameful day for Britain
https://medium.com/@Brian_Whit/war-crimes-in-yemen-a-shameful-day-for-britain-19d8bba24a5e#.mowfmlp2fBritain’s parliament yesterday rejected calls for “a full independent UN-led investigation” into alleged war crimes in Yemen and for suspension of British support to the Saudi-led coalition “until it has been determined whether they have been responsible for any such violations”.
A motion put forward by the opposition Labour party was defeated by 283 votes to 193 because more than a hundred of the Labour party’s own MPs either abstained or failed to turn up for the vote. On the other side, a single member of the ruling Conservative party — Chris White — voted in favour of the motion after telling parliament:
“The United Kingdom’s legal obligations stipulate that the government must suspend arms sales if there is a clear risk that there might be a violation of international humanitarian law. I suggest that that criterion has been met, and that arms sales to Saudi Arabia should therefore be suspended … The default position of the UK government should be not to continue to sell weapons, but to pause until they are satisfied that allegations have been investigated properly.”
The Saudi military’s apparent disregard for humanitarian law is by no means a new issue: the Americans complained about it in 2010 during the kingdom’s previous bombing campaign in Yemen. During the current conflict there has been ample evidence of Saudi warplanes targeting civilians in hospitals, market places, and elsewhere.
The most horrific example so far came on October 8 when Saudi bombing of a funeral in Yemen killed at least 140 people and injured more than 500. The Saudis have since blamed this on flawed intelligence and indiscipline within their armed forces.
The funeral bombing was a “double-tap” attack where a second bomb struck as rescuers moved in after the first explosion.
Britain’s foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, has previously described double-tap bombing as “unquestionably a war crime” — but he was referring to Russian attacks in Syria rather than Saudi attacks in Yemen.
The British government’s reluctance to acknowledge evidence of war crimes and take a more critical line towards the Saudis is largely a result of the importance it attaches to arms sales. Last year it approved licences for military exports to Saudi Arabia amounting to £2.8 billion and is hoping to expand business with the Arab Gulf states if Britain leaves the EU.
There are similar attitudes among some Labour MPs because of pressure from trade unions whose members work in the weapons industry — which partly explains their absenteeism during yesterday’s vote.
Britain has a legal obligation not to grant arms export licences where there is “a clear risk” that items “might be used” in committing serious violations of international humanitarian law. Until now, the government has insisted that in the case of arms sales to Saudi Arabia this test has not been met.
In yesterday’s debate, however, foreign secretary Johnson took a different tack, suggesting that British arms sales should continue because if they were suspended other countries would sell them to the Saudis instead:
“We would be vacating a space that would rapidly be filled by other western countries that would happily supply arms with nothing like the same compunctions, criteria or respect for humanitarian law. More importantly, we would, at a stroke, eliminate this country’s positive ability to exercise our moderating diplomatic and political influence on a crisis in which there are massive UK interests at stake.”
Whatever “compunctions” Johnson imagines Britain has shown in its lethal trade with Saudi Arabia, the possibility of arms sales by other — supposedly less scrupulous — countries does not absolve Britain from complying with the law.
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Topic: UK blocking UN inquiry into claim of war crimes in Yemen