REPUBLIC OF YEMEN: Coalition used UK cruise missile in unlawful airstrike. UK should stop selling air-to-ground munitions to Saudi Arabia-led forces

3 Dec 2015

[International Secretariat]

Region: REPUBLIC OF YEMEN

Topic: Regional conflict

The attack on the factory in the Sana’a governorate, which appeared to be producing only civilian goods, killed one person, and was in apparent violation of international humanitarian law (IHL), the laws of war.

This strike, using a British missile undermines the claim of Ministers that the Saudi Arabia-led coalition’s use of UK military equipment is consistent with IHL, and that the UK monitors such compliance “very carefully”. The organizations are unaware of any credible coalition investigation into this or other apparently unlawful airstrikes for possible IHL violations.

Amnesty International staff visited the Sana’a strike site on 6 November and they, as well as Human Rights Watch, later interviewed one of the factory owners and other witnesses to the strike.

The airstrike took place on 23 September in the village of Matna in Beni Matar district, west of Sana’a. Witnesses and one of the factory owners said that four missiles hit the ceramics factory in quick succession.

All countries have legal responsibilities under international law to control the transfer of weapons and to restrict or prohibit their transfer in certain circumstances. The UK is a party to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and played a leading role in its establishment. Under the treaty, a country is prohibited from authorizing an arms transfer if it has knowledge at the time of authorization that the arms would be used in the commission of “attacks directed against civilian objects or civilians protected as such, or other war crimes.” Further, ATT requires that states assess the potential that the arms being exported could be used to commit a serious violation of international human rights or humanitarian law; if there is an overriding risk of this, their export shall not be authorized.

As it is now evident that there is such a risk, the UK and all other countries should suspend all transfers of weapons that pose a substantial risk of being used in unlawful airstrikes in Yemen, particularly air-to-ground munitions, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said.

An independent international inquiry should be established to investigate alleged violations by all parties to the conflict in Yemen, establish the facts, and identify those responsible for violations with a view to ensuring that they are held accountable.

25 November 2015
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH JOINT PRESS RELEASE