Methodist Church welcomes ruling on arms to Saudi Arabia

The Methodist Church has welcomed a ruling by the Court of Appeal on the legality of UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The Revd Dr Jonathan Hustler, Secretary of the Conference, said:

“The Methodist Church welcomes the Court of Appeal’s ruling that the UK’s on-going arms sales to Saudi Arabia are illegal. The Methodist Church has been actively campaigning for the suspension of arms sales to Saudi Arabia for a number of years.

The practice of our government to license arms sales without being clear that they will not be used to commit atrocities or otherwise violate international law is unacceptable. A fair and legal assessment of the harm caused by these sales should conclude that arms sales to Saudi Arabia should be immediately suspended. The United Nations have warned that at least 13 million lives are in jeopardy as a consequence of conflict in Yemen.

The Methodist Church repeats our earlier calls for the UK and other major nations immediately to cease all exports of arms to Saudi Arabia and support a ceasefire in Yemen.”

The Methodist Church, together with other denominations, has campaigned over a number of years for the trade of arms to Saudi Arabia to be stopped.