Following a Senate vote defeating a resolution to block an impending $500 million arms sale to Saudi Arabia, Joanne Lin, senior managing director of advocacy and government relations at Amnesty International USA, issued the following statement:
“By selling arms to the Saudi government, the U.S. risks becoming complicit in attacks by the Saudi military on civilians in Yemen. These actions are gross violations of international law and may rise to the level of war crimes. Today’s vote is a shameful tacit endorsement of the Trump Administration’s willingness to turn a blind eye to Saudi Arabia’s appalling human rights record.”