European politicians demand arms embargo on Saudi Arabia

Members of the European Parliament called for an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia today following serious concerns about war crimes committed in Yemen.

The alliance of the Greens/EFA bloc of MEPs, which contains a number of political parties from across Europe, called on the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, to launch an initiative to impose an arms embargo against Saudi Arabia, prior to a scheduled debate on Yemen at the European Parliament this afternoon. There will be a vote on a motion for a resolution tomorrow.

The letter cited comments made by Swedish MEP Bodil Valero in her report on Arms Exports earlier this year, which called on Mogherini to impose such an embargo on the Saudi government.

“It is a scandal that EU member states continue to provide arms and expertise to Saudi Arabia in the war against Yemen,” said Valero. “High Representative Mogherini should urgently launch an initiative to impose an EU arms embargo against Saudi Arabia. As chairwomen of the Foreign Affairs Council, we urge Mogherini to formally put the item of an embargo on the agenda of their next meeting. EU countries cannot continue to be party to the horrible suffering being caused in Yemen.”

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In their letter, the Greens/EFA coalition pointed out that the “UK is one of the EU countries still exporting high volumes of arms to Saudi Arabia, where Prime Minister Theresa May is currently visiting.” The bloc pointed out that while Theresa May “will no doubt pay lip service to the tragedy facing the people of Yemen during her trip to Saudi Arabia,” these words “will mean nothing” so long as the UK continues to sell billions of euros worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia each year.

“There are signs that war crimes are being committed in Yemen on a grave scale,” added the Greens/EFA coalition. “We support the collection of evidence for the criminal prosecution of those committing such crimes and UN sanctions against individuals obstructing delivery of humanitarian assistance.”

Saudi quagmire in Yemen – Cartoon [Latuff/MiddleEastMonitor]