Shaheen Statement on Reports State Department Officials Advised Pompeo Against Yemen Certification

(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 reports that State Department officials advised Secretary of State Mike Pompeo against certifying to Congress that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen is complying with humanitarian benchmarks and avoiding civilian casualties. Senators Shaheen and Todd Young (R-IN) authored this certification in this year’s defense authorization legislation that was recently signed into law. 

“It’s abundantly clear that this certification was bogus when it was announced and the reporting on this internal memo further confirms that the administration has clearly violated the law that I authored with Senator Young,” said Shaheen. “The administration should immediately begin taking steps to achieve compliance with the law and submit a certification that actually reflects the facts on the ground. The Saudi-led coalition’s indiscriminate bombing campaigns are taking scores of innocent lives and it’s time to hold the coalition accountable.”   

The Shaheen-Young certification requirement requires the Secretary of State to repeatedly submit a written, detailed and unclassified certification to Congress surrounding efforts of the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Yemen to end the war, alleviate the humanitarian crisis and protect civilians. The first certification deadline was on September 12th.