۱۰ فروردین ۱۴۰۳ |۱۹ رمضان ۱۴۴۵ | Mar 29, 2024
News ID: 348527
5 February 2017 - 08:54
A poll shows Most Britons are against selling arms to Saudis

A poll shows that almost two-thirds of British people think selling arms to Saudi Arabia is unacceptable. The UK has sold over £3.3bn-worth of arms – including fighter jets, bombs and missiles – to Saudi Arabia forces since the bombing of Yemen began in March 2015.

Hawzah News Agency (London, UK) - The Opinium poll conducted for the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) suggests  that almost two-thirds of British people think selling arms to Saudi Arabia – the UK’s largest military customer – is unacceptable.

The finding comes ahead of this week’s high court case, which has the potential to derail arms sales to the kingdom – and could have major consequences for arms exports to other countries too.

 

The case, on Tuesday, February ۷, ۲۰۱۷, comes at a time when Theresa May’s government is keen to promote UK arms exports. In a post-Brexit world, ministers believe the arms industry could be a major beneficiary when the UK establishes new trade deals. 

The CAAT Opinium poll also suggests that the government’s enthusiasm for selling weapons to regimes with questionable human rights records is firmly out of step with public opinion.

 

The poll shows that 62% of people surveyed think selling arms to Saudi Arabia is unacceptable.

More broadly, more than seven in 10 people (71%) think that the UK should not promote the sale of weapons to foreign governments accused of violating international humanitarian law. Six in 10 (60%) agree that the government should not promote sales to countries that are not democracies. Only a quarter (26%) agree that the UK should promote the sale of British military equipment to foreign governments, compared with a third (34%) who disagree.

 

CAAT is calling for the Department for International Trade to suspend all existing arms export licenses and to stop issuing further licenses to Saudi Arabia for military equipment intended for use in Yemen while it reviews the compatibility of the exports with UK and EU legislation.

“UK fighter jets and bombs have been central to the devastation [in Yemen],” said Andrew Smith of CAAT. “Whatever the verdict, it won’t be the end of the issue. May and her colleagues must listen to the public and finally end their toxic military relationship with Saudi Arabia.”

 

The UK has sold over £3.3bn-worth of arms – including fighter jets, bombs and missiles – to Saudi Arabia forces since the bombing of Yemen began in March 2015. But a range of international organizations, including a UN panel of experts, the European parliament and many humanitarian NGOs, have condemned the ongoing Saudi air strikes against Yemen as unlawful and are backing the rare legal challenge to the government.

 

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