On March 23, a bipartisan group of ten Senators urged Secretary of State Tillerson to launch an urgent diplomatic effort to address obstacles in northeastern Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen preventing humanitarian aid from being delivered to people who desperately need it. They specifically called for opening Yemen’s Hodeida port to humanitarian aid to avert famine.
Call your Senator now at (202) 224-3121. When you reach a staffer or leave a message, you can say something like:
“Thank you for calling for opening Hodeida to humanitarian aid. I urge you to use your ability to reject arms deals to force Saudi Arabia to comply with your demand.”
When you’ve made your call, please report it below.
About Yemen, the ten Senators wrote:
“In Yemen, the World Food Program estimates that 80% of the population is in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. In short, millions of innocent people will starve to death without concerted and urgent action in the coming weeks…In Yemen, we ask that the Department of State work urgently with stakeholders to persuade combatants to permit humanitarian groups increased access to Red Sea ports like Hodeida to deliver much-needed assistance to vulnerable communities.”
Former U.S. officials have said that failure to open Hodeida to food imports could tip Yemen into famine.
The Trump Administration is moving towards selling even more weapons to Saudi Arabia. This arms deal could be blocked by Congress. That gives Congress leverage over Saudi Arabia.
Urge your Senator to use their leverage to force the Saudis to comply with their demand to open Hodeida by calling them at (202) 224-3121 now.
And if you haven’t signed our petition to Congress yet, you can do that here.