WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), joined SFRC Ranking Member Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), SFRC Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), and Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) in raising concerns over a reported imminent military operation from the United Arab Emirates to seize the port of Hudaydah from Houthi fighters. In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis, the Senators called on the Trump Administration to step in and work towards resurrecting a political end to the conflict before an attack on the Red Sea port city unleashes a humanitarian catastrophe that the United Nations estimates could cost 250,000 innocent lives.
“We write to express our grave alarm regarding developments in Hudaydah, Yemen. We are concerned that pending military operations by the UAE and its Yemeni partners will exacerbate the humanitarian crisis by interrupting delivery of humanitarian aid and damaging critical infrastructure. We are also deeply concerned that these operations jeopardize prospects for a near-term political resolution to the conflict,” wrote the senators. “Humanitarian organizations and the UN repeatedly have warned that military operations at the port likely would render the area inoperable or at further reduced capacity for weeks, if not months. These are unacceptable consequences for any responsible member of the community of nations. Therefore, we urge you to strongly support Mr. Griffiths’ efforts to negotiate a resolution to this conflict and to encourage all parties to avoid steps that will further impede access by millions of Yemenis to the food, fuel, and medicine they need to survive.”
As the principal access point for all humanitarian and commercial goods into Yemen, the Hudaydah port has been an ongoing point of contention for the three-year old civil war between the Saudi-Arabia-led coalition and Iran-backed rebels.
Murphy has been a vocal critic of U.S. support for military campaigns in Yemen that have led to devastating humanitarian consequences and a security vacuum that has empowered terrorist groups. Murphy has repeatedly expressed concern that U.S. participation in Saudi Arabia’s military actions against Houthi rebels in Yemen threatens our own national security interests. Murphy introduced a bipartisan resolution with U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) to end unauthorized U.S. military involvement in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen. Murphy introduced similar legislation last year.
Already considered one of the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, it is calculated that the Yemen conflict has:
Joining the senators in sending the letter were Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.); Jerry Moran (R-Kan.); and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).
A copy of the senators’ letter can be found here and below.
June 12, 2018
The Honorable Mike Pompeo
Secretary of State
Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
The Honorable James Mattis
Secretary of Defense
Department of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301
Dear Secretaries Pompeo and Mattis:
We write to express our grave alarm regarding developments in Hudaydah, Yemen. We are concerned that pending military operations by the United Arab Emirates and its Yemeni partners will exacerbate the humanitarian crisis by interrupting delivery of humanitarian aid and damaging critical infrastructure. We are also deeply concerned that these operations jeopardize prospects for a near-term political resolution to the conflict.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are U.S. partners facing an unacceptable threat in Yemen. The Houthis – enabled by the Iranian regime – have acquired increasingly sophisticated land and anti-ship missiles that threaten freedom of navigation in vital waterways and terrorize the people of Saudi Arabia. Recent actions by the Treasury Department to impose sanctions on Iranian entities providing illicit materials to the Houthis in Yemen are a welcome and overdue step.
Over the course of more than three years of war in Yemen, U.S. officials have consistently stated that there is no military solution to this conflict. Senior Saudi and Emirati officials have echoed this. It is therefore urgent for the U.S. to reassert its leadership by supporting UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths, encouraging all stakeholders to consider confidence-building measures toward de-escalation of military operations, and swiftly returning to negotiations that will end the suffering of Yemen’s people. Mr. Griffiths announced his intent to present a new framework for peace negotiations in mid-June, having spent the past few months meeting with a broad range of stakeholders in the Yemen war. In April, Mr. Griffiths warned the UN Security Council that an attack on Hudaydah “would, in a single stroke, take peace off the table.”
During the April 17 hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, State and Defense Department witnesses noted that the Port of Hudaydah is the principal access point for all humanitarian and commercial goods into Yemen, and highlighted the humanitarian implications of even a temporary closure of the port. In a June 10 Wall Street Journal article, the top UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen stated that 250,000 of Hudaydah’s residents could lose their lives during military operations. The UN also reports that 340,000 people could be displaced as forces advance toward the city of Hudaydah. Humanitarian organizations and the UN repeatedly have warned that military operations at the port likely would render the area inoperable or at further reduced capacity for weeks, if not months. These are unacceptable consequences for any responsible member of the community of nations. Therefore, we urge you to strongly support Mr. Griffiths’ efforts to negotiate a resolution to this conflict and to encourage all parties to avoid steps that will further impede access by millions of Yemenis to the food, fuel, and medicine they need to survive.
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