Join the Campaign: Click here to boycott the dictators who rule Saudi Arabia and U.A.E.

These dictators have committed many crimes:

  • They have starved and slaughtered thousands in Yemen.
  • They have used torture and imprisoned peaceful activists.
  • They have made the climate crisis even worse with their fossil fuel exports.

The Call to Divest from the Ruling Monarchies of Saudi Arabia and U.A.E.:

We, representatives of the Yemeni diaspora and allies, call upon individuals, organizations, institutions, and governments to impose and implement boycotts, divestment initiatives, and other penalties against the ruling families of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era.

Saudi Arabia and U.A.E. have helped drive the people of Yemen into a humanitarian crisis. In their war with Houthi rebels, the ruling monarchies of Saudi Arabia and U.A.E. have committed gross human rights abuses and war crimes, including using starvation as a weapon of war and the deliberate targeting of civilians.

Saudi Arabia and U.A.E. have bombed and killed tens of thousands of Yemeni civilians in airstrikes, using jet fuel and arms supplied by the United States, Britain, and other Western governments. The Houthis, the government of Yemen, and other armed groups have also committed human rights abuses and likely war crimes. However, the governments of Saudi Arabia and U.A.E. remain the leading source of civilian casualties and physical destruction of the country.

The United Nations has stated that approximately 14 million people in Yemen, half the total population of the country, are now facing “pre-famine conditions.” 85,000 children in Yemen may have died from starvation since the Saudi-led coalition began its military intervention in 2015.

We urge civil society organizations and people of conscience worldwide to help end this crisis for the Yemeni people by pressuring governments to impose embargoes and sanctions against the ruling monarchies of Saudi Arabia and U.A.E., including their ruling institutions, financial holdings, and global investments. We urge people of conscience worldwide to push all private businesses, organizations, and other entities in their countries to divest from the Saudi and U.A.E. monarchies and cut all economic ties with the ruling families of these countries.

We stand in solidarity with the many residents and citizens of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates who have also suffered greatly under these governments’ human rights violations and repressive policies. We invite Saudi Arabian and U.A.E. dissidents who are living in exile to support this Call.

These non-violent punitive measures should be maintained until the monarchies of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates end their starvation and destruction of Yemeni society and embrace the fundamental principles of universal human rights for all people.

Specifically, the ruling families of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates must:

  1. Cease their catastrophic war in Yemen and end their use of famine and starvation as a weapon of war.
  2. Pay full reparations to all Yemenis and other peoples who have suffered under their brutal war in Yemen.
  3. Respect the full human rights of all people living in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, including Yemenis in all three countries.

Endorsers:

  • Shireen Al-Adeimi, Assistant Professor, Michigan State University
  • Jehan Hakim, Yemen Alliance Committee
  • Hala Aldosari, Scholar and activist
  • Sunjeev Bery, Director, Freedom Forward
  • Aisha Jumaan
  • Rabyaah Althaibani
  • Somia Elrowmeim
  • Isaac Evans-Frantz, Action Corps NYC
  • Stanley Heller, Executive Director, Middle East Crisis Committee
  • Leah Muskin-Pierret, Manager of Congressional & Grassroots Advocacy, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
  • Ramah Kudaimi, Director of Programs & Operations, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
  • Anna Baltzer, Author and Granddaughter of Holocaust Survivors
  • Hassan El-Tayyab, Co-Director, Just Foreign Policy
  • Jodie Evans, Co-founder, CODEPINK
  • Isa Flores-Jones, Coordinator, Divest Harvard
  • Geneva Tilbury, Fossil Free UMKC (Univ of Missouri-Kansas City)