Letter to Rt Hon Michael Fallon MP

Secretary of State for Defence

House of Commons 

London

SW1A 0AA 

18th August 2015 

Dear Michael,

Thank you for your responses to the questions I asked regarding the UK’s military relationship with Saudi Arabia in relation to the ongoing conflict on Yemen. I have a number of follow up questions and concerns that I thought would be best framed in a letter, to which I would welcome your response.

With regard to WPQ 7584, while I understand that your department cannot publically reveal the number of precision guided munitions being sold to Saudi Arabia and used by its armed forces in Yemen, the answer suggests that your department does nevertheless hold this information.

The answer also notes that:

“The Saudis have provided repeated assurances to us that they will be used in compliance with international humanitarian law and we continue to engage with them on those assurances.”

Relying only on unspecified assurances alone, from a country as institutionally opaque as Saudi Arabia, and with such a concerning record in regards to the rule of law and human rights, does not seem in keeping with the aim to run the most “rigorous and transparent export control regimes in the world.”[1] I would like to see further information on any procedures, beyond simple assurances, that the UK Government and British military personnel in the region have in place to track the use of British exported weaponry in case of abuse.

Of specific concern is Yemen’s northern Saada Governorate. In May this year, several media outlets, including Reuters[2] reported that the whole Governorate and its 800,000 population has been declared a military target, with bombing beginning mere hours after the announcement.

In relation to Saada, can you provide any further information on whether or not any technical support, exchange of information, or British exported arms or equipment has been used in operations in the Governorate? I pursue this line of questioning out of concern that incidents in Yemen that may occur, or may have occurred, constitute serious breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL). This would represent a serious challenge to the spirit and aims of the international Arms Trade Treaty – a Treaty that was proudly celebrated by your predecessor in April 2014.

I am disappointed to observe the Government’s response to the crisis in Yemen so far, which seems to have paid scant concern to this treaty – indeed, concerns about human rights and abuses of IHL seem of peripheral concern.

I should be grateful for your response to the points raised in this letter.

Yours sincerely,