Mobilizing to Demonstrate Against War in Yemen

By Odile Hugonot Haber
Co-chair, Middle East committee of WILPF US

December 2021

January 25, 2021, over 230 organizations in the U.S. and throughout the world mobilized to demonstrate against the war in Yemen: “The World Says No to the War in Yemen.” When President Biden took office, he said he would end the war in Yemen. But then the little word “offensive” appeared in his speech later, and he declared that the United States was not going to support  “offensive strikes” in Yemen.

The Global Conflict Tracker claims that “Since 2002, the United States has carried out nearly four hundred strikes in Yemen.” Recently, the Yemen Data Project claims that there were still 175 air raids from the coalition in October.

In November, the United Nations (UN) released a statement asking for urgent de-escalation of all parties. The United Nations calls this war the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The UN food agency stated that 45 million people are starving, and the death toll is climbing to the hundreds of thousands.

Then the State Department notified the US Congress that the US was now contemplating a $650 million arms sale to Saudi Arabia, of which $280 million are for air-to-air missiles, which the State Department claims are for defense only and not for offensive air raids. So far, the Biden administration has not been successful in ending the war in Yemen and is now compromising with arms sales.

Are we willing to continue the massacre of the children and people of Yemen for the price of arms sales? This reflects a complete moral bankruptcy on the part of the Biden administration.

In Congress, in September, the Khanna amendment passed. The House voted 219-207 in support of this good Yemen amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. This amendment, if enacted, would terminate US military logistical support and the transfer of spare parts for Saudis warplanes conducting airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen, “including strikes over health care facilities, food production facilities, schools, airport, and other civilian infrastructure.”

It would end intelligence sharing that enables offensive strikes and any U.S. efforts to command, coordinate, participate in the movement of, or accompany Saudi-led coalition forces in the war in Yemen. We can assume that the language passed in the House will have a harder time in the Senate. Reach out to your senators.

The next steps in this campaign will be to build support for a Yemen War Powers Resolution (WPR) that would be a stronger tool for ending US participation in the war in Yemen. Bernie Sanders was going to do this, but it has not been done so far.

“Last week, the Netherlands delivered a joint statement on behalf of 37 countries to the UN General Assembly voicing deep regret at the UNHRC’s failure to renew the mandate of the Group of Eminent Experts (GoEE), which since 2017 has been investigating alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in Yemen.”
Source:

But just to report Human Rights violations is not enough. We must end this inhuman war!

You can learn more about the coalition leading the “Stop the blockade of Yemen” campaign. Visit the Every 75 Seconds website to find out what you can do. We must open the ports for food and aid and end the war.

You can look at our last e-alert and previous e-news in our archives listed on the front page of our website.

Please call your representatives and apply some pressure to end the war in Yemen, not just cooperate in the fight. A child dies every 75 seconds, as the name of the coalition indicates. Let us know if you do it and what the responses are.

Contact

Odile Hugonot Haber: Odilehh@gmail.com
Barbara Taft: Beejayssite@yahoo.com

This eNews was revised by Barbara Taft