(Islington North) (Lab)
...I welcome the judgment of the Court of Appeal last Thursday
against UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The Court found that the
Government had
“made no concluded assessments of whether the Saudi-led coalition
had committed violations of international humanitarian law…
during the Yemen conflict, and made no attempt to do so”.
Does the Prime Minister dispute that finding?
The Prime Minister
We continue to operate one of the most robust arms export control
regimes in the world and we take our responsibilities on arms
export licensing very seriously. Indeed, in the words of the 2017
judgment, the Government engaged in
“anxious scrutiny—indeed, at what seems like anguished scrutiny
at some stages”.
We are disappointed that the Court found against the Government
on one ground, and we will be seeking permission to appeal this
judgment.
Germany, as an EU member state, has banned arms exports to Saudi
Arabia, so has Denmark, and both the US Senate and House of
Representatives have voted to ban arms exports as well.
The UN describes the situation in Yemen as “humanity’s biggest
preventable disaster”, but the Government see fit to continue
selling arms to Saudi Arabia during that situation, so may I ask
the Prime Minister a very simple question? Does she believe there
are serious ongoing violations of international humanitarian law
by Saudi Arabia in Yemen—yes or no?
The Prime Minister
The right hon. Gentleman knows very well that we consider these
issues very carefully when we are dealing with these arms export
licences, as has just been quoted by the Court, but he references
the situation in Yemen. This cannot go on. We need a political
settlement in Yemen.
I would remind the right hon. Gentleman that the Saudi-led
intervention was at the request of the legitimate President of
Yemen following a rebel insurgency, which overthrew the
internationally recognised Government, and the intervention has
been acknowledged by the United Nations. My right hon. Friend the
Foreign Secretary held a Yemen Quad meeting on Saturday,
expressing concerns at escalating tensions, but what do we see
the Labour party do? One of the right hon. Gentleman’s MPs was
inviting rebel leaders of the insurgency into the House of
Commons—yet again, Labour on the wrong side of the argument.
The Prime Minister does not appear to understand the depth of
feeling at the UN, Parliaments around the world or even the US
Senate and the House on this situation. The UN itself has warned
that by the end of 2019, if the war continues, 230,000 people
will have lost their lives, of whom 140,000 are children under
the age of five. The UK and EU law state that the Government must
“not grant a licence if there is a clear risk that the items used
might be used in the commission of a serious violation of
international humanitarian law.”
The Government said they had used the following criteria to judge
“an understanding of Saudi military procedures; continuing
engagement with the Saudis at the highest level”
and
“Saudi public commitments to IHL”.—[Official Report, 20 June
2019; Vol. 662, c. 375-6.]
If the Saudi Government say they are respecting human rights, do
we then ignore all evidence on the ground in Yemen and continue
to sell weapons to the regime, which has led to this appalling
death toll already in this conflict?
The Prime Minister
First, as I have made clear, we are seeking permission to appeal
the recent judgment. The judgment is not about whether the
Government made the right or wrong decisions, but about the
decision-making process and whether it was rational. We are
considering the implications of the judgment, alongside seeking
permission to appeal, and while we do that, we will not grant any
new licences for exports to Saudi Arabia and its coalition
partners that might be used in the conflict in Yemen. The right
hon. Gentleman talks about the conflict in Yemen. As I have just
said, let us remember what happened and why we are seeing this
conflict in Yemen: it was the overthrow of the internationally
recognised Government by rebel insurgents. We are all concerned
about the humanitarian situation in Yemen. [Interruption.] The
shadow Foreign Secretary might like, as this is an area of
concern to her remit, to actually listen to what the Government
are doing. [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. The questions must be heard and the answers must be heard.
The Prime Minister
We are all concerned about the humanitarian situation in Yemen.
That is why, since the start of the conflict in 2015, our total
commitment to Yemen now stands at £770 million. We are one of the
major contributors to support for the humanitarian effort.
Ultimately, the only way to resolve this issue is through a
political settlement. That is why we are supporting the efforts
of the UN special envoy, Martin Griffiths.
If that is the case, why are the Government appealing the
judgment instead of promoting a peace settlement in Yemen? Since
2016, for three years, UN experts have been saying that the Saudi
coalition has violated international humanitarian law in Yemen.
This air campaign has killed tens of thousands of people, and
injured and displaced many more. The Government say:
“there can be no military solution to this particular conflict.
There can only be a negotiated and political solution.”—[Official
Report, 20 June 2019; Vol. 662, c. 380.]
If that is the case, why have they already pumped £4.6 billion of
military equipment into this brutal bombardment?
The Prime Minister
What we do believe, as I have just said—I said it in answer to
the right hon. Gentleman’s last question and I said it, I think,
in answer to his first question—is that the only way to ensure
the security and stability of Yemen for the future is through a
political settlement. That is why this Government are supporting
the work being done by the UN special envoy, Martin Griffiths,
and that is why we are continuing to use our diplomatic efforts,
including, as I said, the Foreign Secretary holding a Yemen Quad
on Saturday to encourage others around the table. We are very
clear that we support the efforts to secure the agreement by the
parties to the conflict to implement the Stockholm agreements.
That is an important part of the process leading to peace and a
political solution. That work is essential so that progress can
be made at the next round of these talks and so that the
humanitarian supply lines can be opened up.
The Trade Secretary said there could not be a military solution
to this conflict. Surely the Government should think on this and
stop the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia. Just last week, the UN
special rapporteur, Agnes Kalamar, said that there is credible
evidence that the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and
other high-level officials are personally responsible for the
horrific murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Does the Prime Minister
accept that assessment?
The Prime Minister
We do want to see accountability for this horrific murder. I
raised the death of Jamal Khashoggi with King Salman at the Sharm
summit—the second time I have done so. I raised it with the Crown
Prince at the G20 last year. I have stressed the importance of
those responsible being held to account and of due process being
followed. We expect Saudi Arabia to take the action necessary to
ensure that such violations of international and national laws
cannot happen again. The right direction—the right way—to take
this is through a judicial process, and we are obviously closely
following the continuing investigation. We expect it to proceed
in line with internationally recognised legal standards.
There is overwhelming evidence that war crimes are being
committed in Yemen by Saudi Arabian forces—a state that flouts
every human rights norm at home and abroad. Its Government
believes that it can kill with impunity journalists or civil
rights campaigners, Yemenis or Bahrainis. It funds extremism
around the world, but the UK has supplied it with over £4.5
billion-worth of deadly weapons. UK weapons have been used in
indiscriminate attacks on civilians in which over 200,000 people
have been killed, and hundreds of thousands more stand on the
brink of famine, starvation and death from wholly preventable
diseases. Surely the Court of Appeal judgment should be a wake-up
call to the Prime Minister and the Government. Instead of
appealing the judgment, why not accept it, stop arms sales to
Saudi Arabia now, bring about peace in the Yemen and save those
lives?
The Prime Minister
The right hon. Gentleman says to me, “bring about peace in the
Yemen”. That is exactly what we are working with our
international partners to do through the United Nations and the
Yemen Quad. He talks about our relations with Saudi Arabia. That
relationship has saved lives of British citizens in the past, but
let us look at some of the relationships that right hon.
Gentleman supports. When people were killed in Salisbury, his
sympathies were with Russia. When terrorists were killing our
people, his sympathies were with the IRA. And in the recent
tanker attacks in the Gulf, his sympathies were with Iran. He
never backs Britain and he should never be Prime Minister.
