February 11, 2021

Dear Members of the European Parliament,

We write as European and U.S. organizations and individuals dedicated to ending the brutal war and humanitarian crisis in Yemen, which has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of Yemeni civilians. Both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have contributed heavily to the civilian death toll by bombing, blockading, and starving thousands of Yemeni civilians.

Today, the European Parliament will vote on the resolution on the political and humanitarian situation in Yemen. In particular, paragraphs 11 and 12 of the joint motion will be subjected to separate votes. These paragraphs repeat the European Parliament’s calls to EU Member States to halt their arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, given the serious breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law these countries committed in Yemen.

We deeply appreciate your past support for such moves, as continued arms sales to these countries only prolong the suffering of the Yemeni people. As you know, U.S. President Joe Biden and his administration have just announced a change of policy regarding the war in Yemen, and they have announced the halt of arms sales to Saudi Arabia and U.A.E. Knowing your commitment to transatlantic cooperation and solidarity, we believe that the Parliament’s positive vote on these clauses, as well as on the resolution as a whole, would send a strong message of a reinvigorated transatlantic link.

We therefore appeal to you to vote today in favor of the paragraphs 11 and 12 in their entirety and the text of the joint motion as a whole.

Best regards,

Action Corps

Avaaz

Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain

Arab Resource & Organizing Center (AROC)

Center for Constitutional Rights

Clearinghouse on Women’s Issue

CODEPINK

Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)

The European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights

Fein & DelValle, PLLC

Freedom Forward

Freedom Initiative

Global Exchange

Institute for Policy Studies, New Internationalism Project

International Supreme Council of Civil Society Organizations (SICOCSO)

Just Foreign Policy

Libyan American Alliance

London Students for Yemen

Mark Ruffalo, Actor / Producer

Mwatana for Human Rights

National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies

Peace Action

Rethinking Foreign Policy

Saudi American Justice Project

Win Without War

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation