We have both proudly served Her Majesty’s government — one of us as an army officer and defence attaché to the British Embassy in Saudi Arabia, the other as a lawyer advising successive foreign secretaries on arms exports to Saudi Arabia. We did not undertake this work with illusions about the reality and cost of armed conflict. We did however work on the understanding that the relevant law — including in the Geneva Conventions and long-standing rules on arms exports — would be adhered to by our government.
But that is not currently the case, and we are shocked at the British government’s conduct when it comes to arms sales. It is no surprise to see attempts at a second judicial review (the first successfully halted exports in 2019, before the government resumed sales last year). And now, anticipating the High Court decision on permission imminently, we consider it a matter of moral obligation that we make our concerns public.
Why are we so concerned about arms exports to Saudi Arabia? In short, an export license is required by anyone British, or in Britain, who wants to export arms. The law prohibits the government from granting an export licence where there is a clear risk the item to be licensed might be used in a serious violation of international humanitarian law. This body of law governs conduct in warfare — it prohibits the targeting of civilians and mandates the taking of all feasible precautions to avoid killing them.
There are well established military methods for complying with these rules. British military personnel follow a set of obligatory processes when lethal force is contemplated: in airstrike planning, constant care is taken to spare civilians; any attack which might cause disproportionate loss of civilian life is prohibited; military target locations must be accurate and verified or they will not be engaged; and attacks are cancelled at the last moment if doubt emerges about the legality criteria being satisfied.
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