May defends UK-Saudi status quo

UK Prime Minister Theresa May is proving to be as defiant as her predecessors in defending the special relationship between her country and Saudi Arabia. Discontent with the UK-Saudi alliance has simmered in the UK over recent years, and the status quo is now being openly questioned.

The UK is the world’s second biggest arms dealer and Saudi Arabia is its best customer. There has long been a contradiction in the UK’s approach, with the Foreign Office deeming Saudi Arabia a “country of major human rights concern”, while the Business Department calls the Kingdom a “primary market for arms exports”.

Read also: Britain's dark shadow looms over Yemen funeral tragedy

The Saudi’s Wahhabi ideology is similar to that of the Islamic State group [IS], but the UK and Saudis identify the same range of threats to the regional balance of power: Sunni nationalism, pan-Arab unity, democracy and Shia influence.

The latter explains the UK’s support for the Saudi-led intervention in the Yemen, where the Houthis are viewed as Iranian proxies.

Export boom

The above explains why, over a three-month period in 2015, UK bomb sales to Saudi Arabia rose 100-fold, according to the UK government’s own official records; £3.3 billion of arms have been licensed by the UK since the Yemen intervention began.

These sales are signed off by ministers, leading Amnesty International to accuse the Conservative government of ignoring “overwhelming evidence” of the targeting of civilians. Amnesty has called for the suspension of further sales and an investigation of suspected breaches of international humanitarian law.

The previous Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond vowed to halt arms exports if the Saudis were found guilty, but he said this while relying on internal Saudi investigations that were never likely to provide objective analysis.

And, despite the questions raised, Hammond pledged UK support “in every practical way short of engaging in combat” for the Yemen intervention. Hammond even described the decision to pull out of a prisons deal with the Saudis as diplomatically unwise, citing the “wider interests of British government”.

But it is not just human rights groups that are calling for change. The European parliament and the House of Commons International Development Committee have both called for an end to arms exports to the absolute monarchy.

But it is not just human rights groups that are calling for change. The European parliament and the House of Commons International Development Committee have both called for an end to arms exports to the absolute monarchy

Multiple benefits

Belief in the strategic necessity of a close UK-Saudi partnership pervades a September report by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee titled ‘The use of UK-manufactured arms in Yemen’.

The report outlines the multiple benefits of close ties with the Saudis, and reiterates UK support for the intervention in Yemen under UN Resolution 2216. But even this report criticises the government’s handling of the relationship, saying that the government “appears to have relied on assurances from the Saudi government that the coalition is operating within the boundaries of international law, despite the fact that we heard allegations from credible sources to the contrary”.

The report recommends an independent, UN-led investigation and that the UK government refers to the Arms Trade treaty, as well as European and domestic law to ensure that there is no risk that UK arms are being used in contravention of international humanitarian law.

The report further states that the government “too often relies on assertion rather than positive evidence” when it comes to explaining its arms export licensing regime.

The Foreign Affairs Committee report also makes many references to the expertise of the Campaign Against Arms Trade, who have stated that it is “inevitable” that Saudi violations have used UK-manufactured weapons.

Even Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood described the bombing of a Yemeni funeral that killed 140 civilians as “a deliberate error”.

Even Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood described the bombing of a Yemeni funeral that killed 140 civilians as 'a deliberate error'

Opposition forming

The opposition Labour party is now raising the issue, with leader Jeremy Corbyn challenging Theresa May at the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions.

He used two of his questions to the Prime Minister to address the Saudi relationship.

Corbyn raised his party’s concern that the UK might once again support the Saudi bid to join the UN Human Rights Council, and quoted Amnesty International’s identification of executions, discrimination against women and banning of human rights organisations in the Kingdom.

Theresa May’s response was standard: that the UK raises its concerns with the Saudi monarchy, and hopes that the Saudis learn from this, “if there are lessons to be learned”. She reiterated what her predecessor had emphasised, that the Saudis offer a “particularly important relationship” for UK security, especially on counter terrorism.

Corbyn returned to the despatch box to call for a suspension of arms sales to the Saudis over apparent atrocities in the Yemen. May ignored this and stated that the UK is ensuring that humanitarian aid is being provided to the Yemenis, and that her government would press for a “political solution” to ensure “stability in the Yemen”.

Corbyn returned to the despatch box to call for a suspension of arms sales to the Saudis over apparent atrocities in the Yemen. May ignored this and stated that the UK is ensuring that humanitarian aid is being provided to the Yemenis

Great seriousness

The record of parliamentary scrutiny also shows regular questioning of ministers over the UK’s role in the Yemen.

New Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has also resisted calls to suspend arms sales, backing the Saudi government, who he claimed have approached concerns about violations of humanitarian law with “great seriousness, and the seriousness it deserves”.

The Scottish National Party has joined Labour in pushing for a suspension of arms sales, and so a parliamentary bloc has emerged that is not satisfied with the government's reliance on Saudi Arabia's reassurances.  

In the 2015 Foreign and Commonwealth Office report ‘Human Rights and Democracy’ the UK government’s Saudi policy is laid out: “We continue to believe that raising issues in private is the most effective way of effecting change”.

This approach is losing credibility by the week, but May and her colleagues will persist and hope that the voices of opposition can be silenced, albeit using different methods than those employed by her Saudi allies.

Tom Charles is a London-based writer, editor and literary agent. He previously worked in the UK parliament, including as a lobbyist for Palestinian rights. He has contributed to Jadaliyya and the Journal of Palestinian Refugee Studies. 

Follow him on Twitter: @tomhcharles

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.