Human rights groups investigating atrocities in the Yemen war have urged Australia to immediately suspend arms exports to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, saying distance does not justify Australia abrogating its responsibility towards the region.

Unlike other western nations, Australia has decided against halting sales to UAE and Saudi Arabia, two nations waging the bloody war in Yemen.

The United Nations says the war is fuelling the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. As of February, the UN had verified the death or injury of 17,700 civilians as a direct result of fighting between government forces – backed by the UAE and the Saudis – and Houthi rebels backed by Iran. An estimated 3.3 million people have been displaced, and 20 million are food insecure, half with extreme hunger. About 3.2 million require treatment for acute malnutrition, including 2 million children under the age of five, and a million pregnant women.

Australia has argued the arms it sells to Saudi Arabia and UAE go through extensive checks to ensure they are not used in violation of humanitarian law. Other nations, including the UK, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Belgium, have suspended all arms exports.

Mwatana for Human Rights, a group investigating humanitarian law violations on the ground in Yemen, said Australia’s stance helped encourage the Saudi-led coalition and was “contributing to the worst humanitarian crisis in the world”.

The group documented hundreds of attacks that it believes violate international law, many of which it says “may amount to war crimes”. It has found evidence that US- and European-made weapons have been used against civilians and civilian targets.

“The behaviour of the coalition in committing violations of [international humanitarian law] and war crimes would not continue if the allies of Saudi Arabia and UAE, including [Australia], took a firm position and suspended the arms sales,” a Mwatana spokesman, Osamah Al-Fakih, told Guardian Australia.

“The coalition’s supporting countries including US, UK, France, Italy and Australia have a responsibility of violations committed by their allies in Yemen. Distance would not make Australia far away from the responsibility of what it’s contributing to in Yemen.”

One of the Australian companies exporting to Saudi Arabia, Electro Optic Systems, has insisted it sells arms only to Saudi’s interior ministry which has no ability to go beyond the border. The company said it kept track of the remote weapons systems it sells to the Saudis, and has found none have been used in the Yemen conflict.

Last week photographs from inside Sydney’s international airport showed arms shipments destined for Saudi and UAE forces. The shipments were due to leave in the same week a UK court ruled it illegal to sell arms to Saudi Arabia.

Mwatana wants Australia to “immediately suspend arms exports” to Saudi Arabia and UAE. “Instead of fuelling the armed conflict with arms, Australia must take positive steps toward accountability for the violations committed by all parties to the conflict and toward justice for all victims of human rights violations in Yemen,” Al-Fakih said.

The Finnish government suspended all arms sales to the two nations in November. A senior adviser within Finland’s arms control unit told Guardian Australia the ban was taken in view of the deteriorating situation in Yemen.

“The decision was taken based on an overall assessment of developments in the region, and in particular in view of the grave humanitarian situation in Yemen,” the adviser said.