NGOs oppose the export by Navantia to Saudi Arabia of five corvettes as it breaches International law

The Directors of Amnesty International, the Peace Foundation (FundiPau), Greenpeace and Oxfam Intermón have sent an open letter to Navantia and the acting Spanish Prime Minister expressing their opposition to the imminent signature of an agreement between Navantia and Saudi Arabia to build five Avante 2200 frigates for the Saudi navy. The NGOs alert there is a clear risk that Saudi Arabia uses the frigates in the naval blockade it has imposed on Yemen since 25 March 2015, when it launched a devastating campaign of aerial attacks in Yemen in which it has committed serious violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes. Yemen’s naval blockade by the Saudi coalition is a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

According to the UN, some 5,979 conflict related deaths and over 28,000 wounded were reported in the conflict in Yemen, as well as over 2.5 million internally displaced people. More than 21 million people require humanitarian assistance to cover their basic needs, in a crisis exacerbated by the naval blockade of Yemen. The airstrikes launched in Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition, including airstrikes against schools, are in breach of international humanitarian law, and the Saudi coalition has reportedly used cluster munitions.