More than 40 human rights organizations urged lawmakers in the US Senate to “call for a vote on the US relationship with Saudi Arabia” and implement the campaign promise made by President Joe Biden 4 years ago.
The “Responsible Statecraft” website highlighted the move of a non-partisan coalition of 40 civil organizations to change the course of the US administration regarding the sale of new weapons to Saudi Arabia, noting that President Biden failed to implement his promises regarding forcing the Saudis to “pay the price” for their human rights violations.
According to the site’s report, Biden, after suspending certain arms sales to Saudi Arabia for the first time, made every effort to court Riyadh and continue America’s close relationship with the Kingdom, noting that reports indicate that despite the ongoing allegations of human rights violations in Saudi Arabia, the White House wants to give the Kingdom security guarantees.
He even will help them with nuclear technology in order to encourage it to normalize relations with Israel.
The organizations’ letter to the Senate called for blocking the pending arms sale to Saudi Arabia, which the State Department notified Congress of on December 4, with only a few days remaining to pass a resolution of disapproval before the recess.
This comes just a few months after the State Department authorized a $500 million deal to supply parts for a range of US military equipment, including some of the weapons used by Saudi border guards to kill “at least hundreds” of Ethiopian civilians who attempted to cross the Yemeni border to Saudi Arabia, according to a report issued by Human Rights Watch.
The report indicated that among the organizations and institutions that signed the letter were Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), the Liberal Institute, the Tigray Forum for Human Rights, Veterans for Peace, the Yemeni Alliance Committee, the Yemeni Relief and Reconstruction Foundation, and the Quincy Institute.
