A number of constituents have been in touch with me about the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia and the situation in Yemen.
I share the growing concern about the humanitarian situation in Yemen and I am assured that the Government is continuing its efforts to address the urgent humanitarian needs. The UK is one of the largest donors to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, and more than doubled its support over the last year to £85 million for 2015/16. UK aid has so far helped more than 1.3 million Yemenis.
The UK has been consistently clear with all sides to the conflict about the importance of compliance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law. The Government is clear that a political solution remains the best way to bring long-term stability to Yemen.
The UK operates one of the most rigorous and transparent export control regimes. All UK arms exports are scrutinised in detail through established processes and against the EU and national consolidated criteria. This process takes account of all relevant information at the time of the application. A licence will not be issued, for any country, if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the UK Licensing Criteria.
The UK Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria. The key test for the UK’s continued arms exports to Saudi Arabia in relation to international humanitarian law (IHL) is whether there is a clear risk that those weapons might be used in a serious violation of IHL. I am assured that the situation is kept under careful and continual review.
