Foreign Policy: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates Are Starving Yemenis to Death
Radhya Almutawakel and Abdulrasheed Alfaqih, co-founders and leaders of Mwatana Organization for Human Rights

“…For nearly four years, Saudi Arabia has led a coalition, along with the United Arab Emirates, that has cynically and viciously bombarded Yemen’s cities, blockaded Yemen’s ports, and prevented humanitarian aid from reaching millions in need. … But the Saudis and Emiratis couldn’t continue their bombing campaign in Yemen without U.S. military support. … Yemenis are being starved to death on purpose, with starvation of civilians used by Saudi Arabia as a weapon of war. … To be clear, there is no party in this war without blood on its hands … The people of the Middle East have long and bitter experience with international double standards when it comes to human rights, as purported champions of universal rights in the West regularly ignore grave violations by their allies in the region … [T]his double standard is on display when Western policymakers downplay Saudi and Emirati violations of Yemenis’ human rights by claiming that a close partnership with Riyadh is needed to prevent perceived Iranian threats to the international community, without asking whether that same community is also endangered by Saudi Arabia’s daily violations of basic international norms. And yes, there is a double standard in the wall-to-wall coverage of Khashoggi’s horrific murder, when the daily murder of Yemenis by Saudi Arabia and other parties to the conflict in Yemen hardly merits mention” (11/8).