Shaheen Encouraged by Administration’s Call for Yemen Ceasefire

(Washington, DC)—U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, issued the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s call for a ceasefire between all warring parties in Yemen.

“I’m encouraged by the Trump administration’s call for a ceasefire in Yemen. The humanitarian situation is dire and it’s past time for the United States to use our leverage to help end this horrific war,” said Shaheen. “Senator Young and I wrote the law that created legal benchmarks to hold the Saudi-led coalition accountable, and I continue to call on the administration to adhere to the certification requirements. The recent certification submitted to Congress deliberately sidestepped the law and maintained the status quo where there is little accountability for indiscriminate civilian casualties.” 

Senators Shaheen and Todd Young (R-IN) wrote the law prohibiting the US military from continuing to provide aerial refueling support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen unless the Secretary of State repeatedly certifies that the Governments of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates are taking urgent steps to end the civil war in Yemen, alleviate the humanitarian crisis and reduce the risk to civilians posed by military operations. The provision establishing the law was included in this year’s defense authorization legislation that was recently signed into law.