April 4, 2019 – UPDATE: The US House of Representatives voted today to finally pass a bipartisan resolution ending US military support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, sending the proposal to the White House, where Trump is expected to veto it. MADRE applauds the 247-175 vote, which sends a clear message that the US role in exacerbating this cruel humanitarian crisis - which has devastated the lives of millions of Yemeni women and girls - is unconscionable. The resolution, which previously passed in the Senate last month, came back to the House for its final passage today.
Yesterday the US House of Representatives voted to pass H.J. Res 37, a resolution sponsored by Rep. Ro Khanna to end US support for the Saudi-led coalition, which has fueled a deadly war and humanitarian disaster in Yemen.
At MADRE, we are heartened to see this move. Yemen’s civil war has pushed more than 14 million Yemenis to the brink of famine. And the US has exacerbated the conflict by providing weapons and logistical support to the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Saudi coalition has blocked food and medicine from reaching the Yemeni people, and their airstrikes have killed civilians. The conflict has disproportionately impacted women and girls, who make up a majority of the two million internally displaced people in Yemen.
Through the years of Yemen’s civil war, MADRE has been mobilizing to save lives and to advocate for peace in Yemen. We’ve brought emergency food supplies to the besieged community of Hodeida and supplied communities with clean drinking water to counter the spread of cholera.
This bill is a promising first step to ending US complicity in this humanitarian crisis – but it was weakened by amendments passed at the last minute, including one that allows for continued intelligence sharing with Saudi Arabia. Intelligence sharing has been a major area of US support that has helped the Saudi coalition launch airstrikes. Further, the Senate must still pass the resolution, and both chambers must override a likely veto by President Trump. We must continue to push for peace and justice.
We need your help today: call the congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senator. Ask them to support the resolution to fully pull out of Yemen’s civil war – with no amendments or caveats that limit its impact.
Spread the word on social media
The time to act is NOW! Contact your Senator, and let them know you want them to support a resolution to fully pull out of Yemen’s civil war. Call: (202) 224-3121 #YemenCantWait
A resolution sponsored by @RoKhanna was a much needed first step towards getting the US to pull out of Yemen’s civil war. Speak up! Ask your Senator to pull out of Yemen’s civil war. Call: (202) 224-3121 #YemenCantWait
The US is responsible for worsening the violence and trauma endured by Yemeni people throughout the civil war. We can put an end to US complicity in this humanitarian crisis. Call your Senator! (202) 224-3121 #YemenCantWait
Call your Senators RIGHT NOW and tell them they should continue the momentum @RoKhanna started with #HJRes37 and completely pull the US out of Yemen’s civil war. (202) 224-3121 #YemenCantWait
