WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, applauded unanimous, bipartisan committee passage on Thursday of his resolution to address the devastating humanitarian crisis and security vacuum in Yemen as a result of the Saudi coalition’s ongoing military campaign, which has been supported by the United States. As Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism, Murphy has taken several steps to call for more attention to the continued conflict in Yemen, which has killed more than 3,500 civilians, left more than 80% of Yemen’s population in need of humanitarian relief, and allowed the terrorist organizations al Qaeda and ISIS to gain territory and raise revenue. Murphy’s resolution calls on the warring parties to facilitate delivery of humanitarian relief and protect civilians, who have suffered casualties by Saudi coalition airstrikes as well as Houthi artillery attacks for over a year. Murphy recently introduced legislation with U.S. Senator Rand Paul (K-Ky.) to condition certain military sales to Saudi Arabia which could further fuel the conflict and threaten U.S. national security. 

“Today’s action in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is the first step Congress has taken to provide oversight over the United States’ support for the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen. This war has important national security implications for the United States, and it is important for Congress to lay down some basic parameters about our expectations going forward.”

Click here to access the full text of Murphy’s resolution that passed the Foreign Relations Committee today. 

The resolution passed today notes the negative humanitarian and security implications of the continued conflict in Yemen and expresses the sense of the Senate that: 

  • All sides to the conflict should abide by international law with respect to the protection of civilians and the delivery of humanitarian assistance;
  • U.S.-supported Saudi coalition operations should prioritize the fight against AQAP and ISIL and take all feasible precautions to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure;
  • The Houthi-Saleh forces should cease indiscriminate shelling of civilians and allow for delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians;
  • A reconstruction and stabilization plan should be developed alongside a negotiated political framework with robust financing from the international community, including GCC countries who have previously made pledges to fund Yemen’s post-conflict reconstruction.