Responding to news that the United States Senate has voted to block the $8 billion emergency arms sales intended for the Saudi-UAE led coalition and ordered by the Trump administration, Amnesty International advocacy director for Middle East and North Africa Philippe Nassif issued this statement:
“We welcome this tremendous news. The Saudi-led coalition has committed horrific human rights violations in Yemen, some of which amount to war crimes. By supplying arms to this coalition, the US government has already devastated the lives of thousands. Our own research indicates that arms manufactured in the US have been used in deadly strikes against civilians. Halting this emergency arms delivery could prevent enormous harm to families and individuals in Yemen.”
“Yet there is still much more that can be done. Congress must ban all arms sales to the coalition and hold Saudi Arabia accountable for human rights abuses by passing the bipartisan Saudi Arabia Accountability and Yemen Act of 2019.”