British PM Refuses to Withdraw Support for Saudi Arabia
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – British Prime Minister Theresa May refused to withdraw support for Saudi Arabia’s place on UN Human Rights Council despite the regime’s atrocities in Yemen.
May was confronted by Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn who demanded to know if the UK will vote for continued Saudi membership at a crucial ballot later this month, The Independent reported on Wednesday.
It comes amid renewed bombardment of Yemen by Saudi forces and news that the UK is training the Kingdom’s pilots.
Earlier this month the Saudi regime admitted responsibility for the bombing of a funeral that killed 140 people and wounded 600 more.
Raising the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions Corbyn said, “Three years ago the United Kingdom backed Saudi Arabian membership of the UN Human Rights councils. On the 28th of October, there are elections again for the UN Human Rights Council.
“A UN panel has warned that Saudi Arabia’s bombing of Yemen has violated international law.”
He then cited concerns from Amnesty International over executions, discrimination against women and torture, before adding, “Will her government again be backing the Saudi dictatorship for membership of that committee?”
May refused to answer the question directly, only saying that where there are “legitimate human rights concerns” over Saudi Arabia, then the UK would raise them with the country.
She added, "In relation to the action in Yemen, we have been clear that we want the incidents that have been referred, to be properly investigated.
“We want the Saudi Arabians, if there are lessons to be learnt from those, to learn lessons from those.
“But I reiterate a point that I’ve made in this House before, that our relationship with Saudi Arabia is an important relationship. It’s a particularly important relationship in relation to the security of this country and counter-terrorism.”
Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been launching deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to the fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
According to UN estimates, over 10,000 Yemenis, including 4,000 women and children, have lost their lives in the military campaign.
