U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), along with five other Senators, today sent a bipartisan letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressing concerns related to the Secretary’s certification last month that the governments of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have taken demonstrable actions to reduce the risk of harm to civilians.
“We write with significant concerns regarding the Yemen certification you submitted last month to Congress pursuant to Section 1290 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (P.L. 115-232). While we appreciate your timely submission, after reviewing the unclassified and classified components and receiving updates from our staffs regarding the administration’s September 20 briefing, we find it difficult to reconcile known facts with at least two of your certifications… In short, we are skeptical a certification that the two Governments have undertaken demonstrable actions to reduce the harm to civilians is warranted when the Saudi coalition has failed to adopt some U.S. recommendations while civilian deaths and casualties due to coalition airstrikes have increased dramatically in recent months,” the Senators wrote in the letter.
The Senators expressed concern that the certification last month risked leaving the “Saudi-led coalition with the fundamental misunderstanding that the American people and their representatives in Congress are willing to accept the status quo in Yemen.”
Senators Young and Shaheen worked successfully to include Section 1290 in the annual defense bill, which requires the Secretary of State to submit written, detailed, and unclassified certifications related to the efforts of the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to end the civil war, alleviate the humanitarian crisis, and protect civilians. If the Secretary of State cannot make these certifications, the law prohibits the U.S. from refueling Saudi coalition aircraft conducting missions exclusively focused on the war. The statute includes a national security waiver the administration could utilize. However, that waiver can only be utilized after the administration first identifies, in writing, why the certification cannot be made and what steps the administration plans to take to bring the Saudi and UAE governments into compliance. Secretary Pompeo submitted the first certification last month, deciding not to utilize a national security waiver. The statute requires two more certifications from the Secretary of State next year.
Last month, before the initial certification, Senators Young and Shaheen published an op-ed in the Washington Post. In the op-ed, Senators Young and Shaheen wrote, “For the sake of the United States’ interests and our humanitarian principles, we hope the administration complies with the law and submits a good-faith certification by Wednesday. If that does not happen, support for the coalition in Congress may reach a breaking point as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis deteriorates further.”
In addition to Senators Young and Shaheen, the letter was also signed by Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).
The full text of the letter is available here and below.
The Honorable Mike Pompeo
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20520
Dear Secretary Pompeo:
We write with significant concerns regarding the Yemen certification you submitted last month to Congress pursuant to Section 1290 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (P.L. 115-232). While we appreciate your timely submission, after reviewing the unclassified and classified components and receiving updates from our staffs regarding the administration’s September 20 briefing, we find it difficult to reconcile known facts with at least two of your certifications.
While we have other concerns related to your certifications and the actions of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, for purposes of this letter, we will focus on two of our leading concerns. First, in response to Section 1290(c)(1)(C), you certified that the Governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are undertaking “demonstrable actions to reduce the risk of harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure resulting from military operations” in Yemen.
Several facts on the ground in Yemen, however, cast serious doubt on this certification. There has been a dramatic increase in civilian casualties and deaths from Saudi-led coalition airstrikes over the last few months. The death of dozens of children in successive Saudi airstrikes in August tragically and definitively underscored this trend and the failure of the Saudi-led coalition to undertake demonstrable actions to reduce the risk of harm to civilians.
Notably, the unclassified Memorandum of Justification (MoJ) included the following:
The Administration recognizes that civilian casualties have occurred at rates that are far too high in the Saudi-led Coalition’s campaign in Yemen…We continue to press the need for additional actions to reduce civilian casualty incidents. Recent civilian casualty incidents indicate insufficient implementation of reforms and targeting practices. Investigations have not yielded accountability measures.
In short, we are skeptical a certification that the two Governments have undertaken demonstrable actions to reduce the harm to civilians is warranted when the Saudi coalition has failed to adopt some U.S. recommendations while civilian deaths and casualties due to coalition airstrikes have increased dramatically in recent months.
Second, in response to Section 1290(c)(1)(C)(i), you certified that the two governments are “complying with applicable agreements and laws regulating defense articles purchased or transferred from the United States.” However, in direct and explicit contrast, on page 4 of the MoJ, the administration says, “The Administration also assesses that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are complying with applicable U.S. laws governing the sale and transfer of arms, including the Arms Export Control Act, with rare exception.” We do not understand a certification that the Saudi and Emirati governments are complying with applicable agreements and laws regulating defense articles when the MoJ explicitly states that, in certain instances, they have not done so.
In response to these facts, we ask that you provide written and unclassified answers to the following questions no later than October 31:
- From November 2017 to August 2018, what has been the percent increase in civilian casualties and deaths, respectively, due to Saudi coalition airstrikes in Yemen? Please provide the two unclassified percentages.
- Given the dramatic increase in civilian casualties and deaths due to airstrikes in Yemen, how can the administration credibly certify that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are undertaking “demonstrable actions to reduce the risk of harm to civilians”?
- Please provide details regarding all exceptions in which Saudi Arabia or the UAE have not complied with “applicable U.S. laws governing the sale and transfer of arms, including the Arms Export Control Act…” in Yemen.
- Since the administration has explicitly acknowledged in the MoJ that the Saudi Arabia and UAE have not fully complied with U.S. laws governing the sale and transfer of arms, including the Arms Export Control Act, how can the administration credibly make the certification required under Section 1290(c)(1)(C)(i)?
We remain committed to working with you to promote America’s national security interests and humanitarian principles in Yemen. We know you share our goals of ending the civil war, alleviating the humanitarian crisis, and protecting civilians. We also agree that the continuing civil war, worsening humanitarian crisis, and ongoing killing of civilians by the Saudi coalition only serves the interests of Iran and emboldens extremists who seek to harm Americans and our partners. Those are some of the reasons we are concerned that your initial certification, despite several troubling facts, leaves the Saudi-led coalition with the fundamental misunderstanding that the American people and their representatives in Congress are willing to accept the status quo in Yemen.
Thank you for your long record of distinguished service.
Sincerely,
