This report, and the research behind it, were conceived in response to the UK government’s position in the judicial review brought by Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), which questioned whether the licensing of the transfer of arms to Saudi Arabia for use in the war in Yemen is legal under UK and
international law.

Oxfam witnessed significant harm to civilians during its humanitarian work in Yemen, and therefore intervened in support of CAAT in its first judicial review on UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia and will do the same in the second case in 2023. The government has argued that arms exports for use in the war in Yemen are legal as only isolated incidents of serious violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) by the Saudi-Led Coalition (SLC) happen in Yemen. Oxfam’s analysis of the data compiled in this report demonstrates that there are patterns of harm to civilians and that incidents of harm to civilians happen daily. Further, according to bodies such as the UN Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen, all parties to the conflict have committed many serious violations of IHL.

Oxfam has been operating in Yemen since 1983 and is currently present in eight governorates where vulnerable communities are located. We work alongside and through local partners in all areas of our response. Since July 2015, Oxfam has helped more than three million people in nine governorates of Yemen with clean water and sanitation, cash assistance and food vouchers. Oxfam produced this report because the war has made the situation of millions of Yemen is so much worse.

Report by Oxfam