Geneva, 10 July 2017 -- The UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia has been ruled lawful by the High Court just a few hours ago.

The Courts rejected the campaigners’ opposition to the sale of weapons, claiming that ministers were acting illegal by continuing the arms sales to the kingdom.

The campaign against the arms trade (CAAT) argued that weapons had a high possibility of being used in Yemen, violating international humanitarian law. CAAT proceed with the request of a judicial review.

The militants had sought an order to block export licenses for British bombs, combat aircraft and other ammunition, use by Saudi-les forces in their war in Yemen.

The population is clearly against the arms sales to Saudi Arabia. 62 percent of Britons consider them unacceptable, while the Wahhabi kingdom is the country's first client, according to a study conducted last month by the Opinium Institute. This survey shows that the public is rightly appalled by arms exports to regimes that violate human rights such as Saudi Arabia.

Yet the government's position is that British arms sales do not contribute to human rights violations. This is the conclusion that Boris Johnson had drawn after an investigation by the British government last year, before calling for the continuation of sales to Saudi Arabia. The Independent, however, revealed on 6 February that no case-by-case inquiries into allegations of violations of international humanitarian law were made under arms contracts.

Theresa May has already sent clear signals. After meeting King Salman of Saudi Arabia at the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Bahrain last December, they both pledged to further strengthen cooperation, particularly in the areas of counter-terrorism, security and defense. The British Prime Minister showed her full support in helping the Gulf countries "face the Iranian danger in the region” last December.

However, the repeated refusal of the British government to stop arms transfers is beyond comprehension, given the numerous and credible evidence of serious human rights violations, including war crimes, attributable to the coalition led by Saudi Arabia.

Under UK law, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) to which the United Kingdom is a party and the rules of customary international law, the United Kingdom must ensure that they are not guilty of war crimes with their arms sales to Saudi.

The UN claims Saudi air strikes in Yemen have caused thousands of civilian deaths and put millions of lives under serious threat, targeting health facilities and other infrastructures.

ICSFT is deeply concerned with the British High Court’s decision in ruling the arms sales to Saudi Arabia lawful. It is a clear sign of the UK’s disregard towards human rights. ICSFT condemns Saudi Arabia for the genocide in Yemen and its constant support to radical Islamic and terrorist groups, as well as those powers such as the US and UK who support the kingdom without taking appropriate measures.