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Leaked report calls on British government to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia

The Saudis defend their human rights record, but British MP Stephen Doughty says he wants weapons sales to the Kingdom suspended until there has been an independent investigation into their human rights record.
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An explosion and smoke rise after an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition at a weapons depot in Sanaa, Yemen, 2015. (Hani Hohammed/AP)
As It Happens7:44Leaked report calls on British government to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia

British Labour Member of Parliament Stephen Doughty is calling for a temporary suspension of arms deals with the Saudi Arabian government, until there has been an independent investigation into alleged humanitarian law violations. 

Doughty points to the mounting evidence that civilians have been targeted in Saudi Arabia's war in neighbouring Yemen. He is part of an all-party Committee on Arms Export Controls that on Wednesday discussed trade with the Saudis.
Stephen Doughty is the Labour and Co-operative Parliamentary MP for Cardiff South and Penarth. He is also a member of the Committee on Arms Export Controls. (Submitted by Stephen Doughty)
 

A draft report has been seen by the BBC. Committee members outline why they want the UK to stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia. 

The Canadian government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been criticized for following through with a deal to sell the Saudis $15-billion worth of light armoured vehicles.

RELATED: As Liberals defend Saudi arms deal, U.S. report highlights human rights concerns

As It Happens host Carol Off spoke with Doughty about why he thinks the British government should temporarily halt the sales: 

Carol Off: What is your government considering as it looks to whether or not you would cut off arms trade with Saudi Arabia? 

Stephen Doughty: We've taken evidence from a range of non-governmental organizations and experts operating in the region who have amassed a significant amount of evidence of strikes that have targeted civilian areas, hospitals, and even humanitarian operations. Obviously, that gives us a great deal of concern about whether the UK is upholding its international law obligations and its own domestic law about arms exports. 

CO: Do you suspect that the UK is in violation of its treaties and its own domestic laws concerning sales to countries who are committing such acts? 

SD: I called for a full independent investigation under the UN and a temporary suspension of sales in the interim so that we can understand just that. This is an important question for Canada, as well, which has just signed another major deal. Canada is saying it wants to sign this arms trade treaty [The International Arms Trade Treaty], but before it does so, and I hope it does, it needs to be very sure that Canada is upholding these very high standards, too. 

CO: A decision has been made and approved by the present [Canadian] government for a $15 billion sale, the largest military export deal in Canadian history, of light armoured vehicles that will be weaponized and exported to Saudi Arabia. Our own export permit law says there can be no reasonable risk that goods might be used against civilian populations. What would you say to Canada concerning it's own sale of LAVs to Saudi Arabia? 

SD: It sounds like a similar legal framework we are bound by. It's my view, that at the moment, with the very serious questions that aren't being answered about the conduct of the operations in Yemen, that sales like that should really be brought into question.

For more on this story, listen to our full interview with Stephen Doughty.

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