Britain’s High Court ruled on Monday that UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia are “lawful”, after campaigners argued the weapons were used to violate international humanitarian law in bombing Yemen. He added it was not established that there was “a clear risk that the items might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law”. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has described Yemen as the “largest humanitarian crisis in the world”. Saudi Arabia is Britain’s largest trading partner in the Middle East, with exports of more than £6.5 billion ($8.4 billion, 7.4 billion euros) in British goods and services to the country in 2015. International Trade Secretary Liam Fox added that the government “will continue to defend the decisions challenged” if the CAAT appeals.

Source: Hindustan Times July 10, 2017 18:22 UTC