Solidarity With Yemen Campaign
Dozens of campaigners took to the streets surrounding arms companies across the UK in December to demand an end to UK complicity in the war on Yemen and stand in solidarity with Yemeni people everywhere. This day of action was ahead of CAAT taking the UK government back to court over unlawful sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen. This campaign will continue into 2023, so check out this page for more ways to get involved.
Defending the Right to Protest
In October, CAAT and others challenged an injunction from the Three Counties Showground, home of the Malvern arms fair, 3CDSE, in court. While this injunction was intended to limit protests during the arms fair in November, hundreds of CAAT supporters came together to fund our legal challenge to defend the right to protest, and resistance to the arms fair still took place in the surrounding community.
UK Visit from Mwatana for Human Rights
Rasheed Alfaqih, Executive Director of Mwatana for Human Rights in Yemen, visited London at CAAT’s invitation in June this year. Rasheed participated in several events during his visit, including a public panel and a meeting at the House of Commons. You can read more about this in the latest edition of CAAT News. These events were a huge success, and his powerful testimonies did much to bring home the reality of the Yemen war to the public, civil society and MPs.
Exposing Britain’s Militarised Policing Industrial Complex
This summer, CAAT and Netpol released a new report exposing the militarised nature of British policing. Titled ‘A Very British Problem: The Evolution of Britain’s Militarised Policing Industrial Complex’, the report highlights that a war mentality has infiltrated policing – from counter-terrorism to anti-protest policing to border control to the policing of gangs. The launch event featured project partners, campaigners and activists/academics, and you can watch the event, including the Q&A, via this link.
Arms Fairs Uncovered and Resistance
June saw the launch of CAAT and Omega Research Foundation’s new data repository with information on hundreds of arms fairs worldwide and tens of thousands of attendees. There was a brilliant launch event featuring experts, academics and activists that you can rewatch now on our Youtube channel.
Throughout the year, communities have come together to resist arms fairs, including the Tanks Out of Twickenham campaign in February and the No War in Farnborough campaign in July this year. This resistance is only made possible with the work of CAAT local groups, supporters and our partner organisations who have taken action to demand an end to arms fairs once and for all.
