THE war in Yemen has been underreported in the UK, and people might not be aware of the horrors being inflicted on the population. More than 2,000 civilians have died in conflict, many as a result of Saudi-led airstrikes on the country.
Amnesty International has uncovered evidence that UK-made missiles were used to destroy a ceramics factory, a civilian target, and that schools have been deliberately targeted with more than 1,000 of them destroyed beyond use. The targeting of schools which are not being used for military purposes, as these weren’t, is a war crime.
The UK continues to sell arms to Saudi Arabia and a recent legal opinion from eminent lawyers confirmed Amnesty’s long-held view that the continued supply of weapons and equipment which could be used to commit abuses in Yemen, breaks the law. The lawyers found that the sales breach UK domestic law, EU law and the Global Arms Trade Treaty which the UK once championed.
There is a real risk that the misery of civilians in Yemen, was ‘Made in Britain’. Please join Amnesty in calling on the UK government to immediately halt these appalling arms sales.
MICHAEL PLUNKETT
secretary Bishop's Castle Amnesty International
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