The Commons: British Involvement in Yemen

Leontura / Poligrafistka

For the last 9 years, Yemen has been embroiled in a prolonged conflict between the Saudi-backed Hadi government and the Houthi rebels. A misnomer to call the clash a civil war, both sides have received varying levels of support from states both within the Middle East and in the West. Namely, the Hadi government has seen support from Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the United Kingdom – involvement that has turned heads since the day it began. 

The UK’s involvement has taken the role of “supplying weapons and providing military and diplomatic support to the Saudi-led coalition,” along with the US. Since 2015, the UK “has licensed more than £4.7bn of arms exports to the Saudis,” with equipment including “Typhoon and Tornado fighter jets, as well as precision-guided bombs.”  In supplying arms to the Saudi government, there’s a risk that the UK – as well as the US – is indirectly responsible for breaches in international humanitarian law that are currently being undertaken by the Saudi-backed coalition.

July 2019 saw The Court of Appeal in London declare that continued licensing of  military equipment to the Saudis was unlawful, as of the risk of humanitarian breaches. The decision was not a judgment on whether such acts had taken place by the Saudi government, but rather on the “rationality of the process” by which British arms are sold to the Gulf state. The campaign behind the decision, the Campaign Against Arms Trade, argued in favour of this decision. A spokesman for the campaign, Andrew Smith made clear that the judgment was necessary, stating that "No matter what atrocities it has inflicted, the Saudi regime has been able to count on the uncritical political and military support of the UK." 

As to why the UK has stood behind the Saudis, despite the risk of gross humanitarian injustice: a complex history of alliance and an economic reliance. The UK is a historical ally of the United States, a position that it would not want to jeopardize on an international stage. Furthermore, tensions between the UK and Iran over the course of the last decade have grown deeper, adding another layer to the British relationship with the Middle East. With Saudi Arabia and Iran historically opposed in the region, British and American support for the Saudi regime only serves to maintain a tense environment. In terms of economic reliance, the US and the UK both populate their arms exports with sales to the Saudi government. A Parliamentary briefing paper released in July 2020 states that Saudi Arabia was the biggest importer of UK arms between 2010 and 2019, with the “total volume of arms transfers” at “around 40% of the UK's total arms export value.”

In brief, the UK is involved in the crisis in Yemen by virtue of its massive export of military equipment to Saudi Arabia. In the eyes of many human rights organizations, the UK is not only financially benefiting from the crisis but is actually helping it to continue. By “fueling” the conflict with arms sales, both the US and the UK maintain a market for their exports as well as stoking the flames in the region. As recent as July 2020, the UK made the decision to resume arms sales to the Saudis. Government leaders made the decision, after “a review of the Saudi campaign,” that “there had been no pattern to the isolated breaches of international law, and so there could have been no intent to breach the law by Saudi Arabia.” Despite what Parliament may say, many are still concerned that British and American arms sales to the Gulf state are directly responsible for the gross number of civilian deaths in Yemen.

The most recent development in the UK relationship to the conflict was on September 17th, on which a Joint Communiqué was held between “the Foreign Ministers of Germany, Kuwait, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.” The meeting saw leaders discuss the “urgent need for military de-escalation and political progress in Yemen” as well as reasserting their “full support for the Special Envoy, Mr Martin Griffiths, including his efforts to facilitate agreement between the Yemeni parties on the Joint Declaration comprised of a nationwide ceasefire, humanitarian and economic measures and the resumption of a comprehensive, inclusive political process.” Despite the hope in these words, many still fear that these promises are empty. Only 2 days prior, in a “Statement by Ambassador Jonathan Allen, UK Chargé d’Affaires to the UN, at the Security Council briefing on Yemen,” Mr. Allen stated that “The United Kingdom remains extremely concerned by the situation, [...] The Houthi offensive is not only leading to a distressing loss of life, but it threatens to derail the political process at this crucial stage.” While concern is good, so may be acknowledgement of fault. By March 2020, “the UN had verified the deaths of at least 7,700 civilians by March 2020, with most caused by Saudi-led coalition air strikes.” This is not to say that the Houthi rebels are not to blame for civilian deaths – both sides have contributed to the continuation of the conflict. Rather, important to note is that, for many, a ceasefire and eventual peace process in Yemen will only be possible if fault is seen on both sides – a view that the UK is still struggling with.