Centrum Stosunków Międzynarodowych - 25 February 2016: European Parliament passes vote on arms embargo on Saudi Arabia

The European Parliament adopted a resolution for an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia on 25 February due to alleged breaches of international law in Yemen. The vote was passed by 359 votes to 212, with 31 MEPs abstaining, as a diverse coalition of Socialists, Liberals, Greens, Leftists and Eurosceptics overcame opposition from the leadership of the two main centre-right groups. Saudi Arabia leads a coalition of nine Arab countries that began a military campaign in March 2015 to prevent Houthi rebels, whom it sees as a proxy for Iran, from taking complete control of Yemen after they seized control of the capital Sana'a and forced President Hadi into exile. The Saudi-led coalition has faced increasing criticism over its conduct in Yemen where more 6,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced since the intervention began. Saudi Arabia has responded by stating it answered the call from the West to take a greater role in combating terrorist instability throughout the Middle East and the consequences of not intervening in Yemen’s conflict would have been far worse.