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