LONDON — The British government's support for defense equipment exports to Saudi Arabia in the face of rising concerns over their use against rebels in neighboring Yemen has come under renewed scrutiny, but only after what should have been a single parliamentary committee report became two as members fell out over what line to take on the issue.
The four separate parliamentary committees that make up the Committees on Arms Export Control were due to publish a report into British arms exports to Saudi Arabia, but a failure to reach a consensus saw the International Development and Business committees publish a joint report, the Foreign Affairs Committee released its own findings, and the Defence Committee opting out altogether.
The bizarre split occurred after a draft report was leaked last week calling for a ban on exports even though that was not supported by all sides.
The joint report by the International Development and Business committees called for the government to cease exports of all weapons to Saudi Arabia that could be used in the conflict with rebel forces in Yemen while a yet-to-be set up independent international investigation reports on claims that civilian targets such as hospitals and schools were bombed in violation of humanitarian law.
"The arms export licensing system has not worked in the case of Yemen. The UK must suspend licenses for arms exports to Saudi Arabia pending the results of an independent, United Nations-led inquiry into reports of violations of international humanitarian law (IHL). In addition, the Government should investigate whether any licences so far issued have led to the transfer of weapons which have breached the rules," the joint committee said in a statement.
Stephen Twigg, the chairman of the International Development Committee, said it was "hard to understand how a reliable licence assessment process would not have concluded that there is a clear risk of misuse of at least some arms exports to Saudi Arabia."
The second report, this one by the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that an upcoming judicial review granted to the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) was the "most appropriate" place to judge whether the UK had broken the law in allowing the exports.
The three-day review has to be heard no later than February 2017.
Finally, Defence Committee Chair Julian Lewis weighed in, saying his committee would not be "considering, endorsing or publishing the leaked report."
"If the work of the Committees on Arms Export Controls is to be successful, it must proceed on the basis on consensus. This did not happen in the case of this inquiry, where a report was drafted without the customary process of circulating themes, conclusions and recommendations in advance. Instead, a draft report was produced which was then leaked. The leaking of that draft report and the subsequent media controversy about the committees' deliberations fatally undermined any possibility of the four committees coming to an agreed position," Lewis said.
Parliamentary committees have no power to force the government to act, but the publication of the two reports adds fuel to increasing concerns over the use of British-made weapons in the Saudi-led coalition's bloody, 20-month campaign against rebels who ousted the Yemeni government.
The British government has been under increasing pressure to block defense sales to its biggest export customer in the wake of the alleged use of British weapons against civilian targets by the Saudis in its war with the rebels.
As recently as Sept. 6, British Prime Minister Theresa May sidestepped calls to halt weapons sales, telling members of Parliament that Saudi cooperation in countering terrorism was what helped keep people on the streets of Britain safe.
But the report by the Foreign Affairs Committee warned that British interest in continued UK-Saudi relations cannot override the UK's wider obligations.
"Saudi Arabia is a key partner of the UK in addressing our shared challenges in the Middle East. I am yet to hear any persuasive argument for how we better secure our many strategic objectives in the region without a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia. This includes bringing about a political solution to the current conflict in Yemen," said Crispin Blunt, the Foreign Affairs Committee chair.
"However, the massive British interest in continued UK-Saudi relations cannot override our wider legal and moral obligations. It is crucial that the UK does everything in its power to ensure full compliance with IHL by the Saudi-led coalition," he said.
"We have called for an independent UN-led investigation into allegations of violations of IHL to supplement the internal investigations of the Saudi-led coalition. We have made serious criticisms of the [UK] government's handling of the situation and the lack of transparency, which has materially damaged public trust in the arms export controls system," Blunt said.
A suspension, or ban, on defense exports to Saudi Arabia would have a serious impact on much of Britain's defense industry.
Sales to Saudi Arabia have dominated Britain's successful defense export effort for years, and a British ban could have a knock-on effect in a Middle East region, which accounted for nearly 60 percent of the country's £7.7 billion (US $10.2 billion) export effort in 2015.
A recent analysis by CAAT of British export licenses granted for Saudi sales in the 12 months starting March 2015 — the first year of the Yemen conflict — had a value of £3.7 billion and included precision-guided weapons, aircraft components, armored vehicles and other equipment.
Tornado and Typhoon strike jets, Hawk jet trainers, and Paveway IV precision-guided bombs are among some of the weapons the British supply to Riyadh.
BAE also has a major support operation in Saudi Arabia and is negotiating a sale of a second batch of Typhoons in a deal that could also involve the local, final assembly of the jet.
Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.
