B013 Response to Yemen Humanitarian Crisis
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently Yemen called “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.” The statistics are staggering: 22.2 million people in Yemen need humanitarian assistance; 2.5 million children are out of school because of the conflict; 3 million people displaced from their homes. As well, 13 million people—half the population—struggle to secure clean water each day, and water-borne diseases kill thousands of children each year. The water crisis itself is driven by a regional drought and ultimately by climate change and is exacerbated by unequal distribution of water and failing water systems in the country, and the water crisis is understood to be one of the underlying causes of war and conflict in the Middle East as whole in recent years, including the deadly conflict in Yemen. The conflict itself began in March 2015 when an international coalition led by Saudi Arabia (known as the Arab Coalition), in cooperation with the Yemeni government, launched airstrikes against the armed Houthi coalition within the country. Houthis belong to a branch of Shi’a Islam and are being armed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, whereas the majority of Yemenis are adherents of Sunni Islam, so this conflict can be seen as one part of the larger power struggle (too simplistically described as Sunni versus Shi’a and Saudi Arabia versus Iran) within the region as whole. In response to the humanitarian toll of the war, the United Nations has called upon member states to refrain from arming any party to the conflict. However, the United States has continued to send arms to Saudi Arabia since the conflict began. Amnesty International stated in 2017 that bombs being used in the conflict are being manufactured in the United States, saying, “There simply is no explanation the USA or other countries such as the UK and France can give to justify the continued flow of weapons …. for use in the conflict in Yemen.” This resolution calls for The Episcopal Church to urge the U.S. government to observe the international arms embargo and to push, especially with U.S. strategic allies, for a political solution to the conflict. This resolution also encourages The Episcopal Church and Episcopal Relief and Development to work in partnership with the Anglican Dioceses of Cyprus and the Gulf for relief of the humanitarian crisis and for long-term development solutions, to include finding sustainable water access solutions for a large portion of the population.
Explanation
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently Yemen called “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.” The statistics are staggering: 22.2 million people in Yemen need humanitarian assistance; 2.5 million children are out of school because of the conflict; 3 million people displaced from their homes. As well, 13 million people—half the population—struggle to secure clean water each day, and water-borne diseases kill thousands of children each year. The water crisis itself is driven by a regional drought and ultimately by climate change and is exacerbated by unequal distribution of water and failing water systems in the country, and the water crisis is understood to be one of the underlying causes of war and conflict in the Middle East as whole in recent years, including the deadly conflict in Yemen. The conflict itself began in March 2015 when an international coalition led by Saudi Arabia (known as the Arab Coalition), in cooperation with the Yemeni government, launched airstrikes against the armed Houthi coalition within the country. Houthis belong to a branch of Shi’a Islam and are being armed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, whereas the majority of Yemenis are adherents of Sunni Islam, so this conflict can be seen as one part of the larger power struggle (too simplistically described as Sunni versus Shi’a and Saudi Arabia versus Iran) within the region as whole. In response to the humanitarian toll of the war, the United Nations has called upon member states to refrain from arming any party to the conflict. However, the United States has continued to send arms to Saudi Arabia since the conflict began. Amnesty International stated in 2017 that bombs being used in the conflict are being manufactured in the United States, saying, “There simply is no explanation the USA or other countries such as the UK and France can give to justify the continued flow of weapons …. for use in the conflict in Yemen.” This resolution calls for The Episcopal Church to urge the U.S. government to observe the international arms embargo and to push, especially with U.S. strategic allies, for a political solution to the conflict. This resolution also encourages The Episcopal Church and Episcopal Relief and Development to work in partnership with the Anglican Dioceses of Cyprus and the Gulf for relief of the humanitarian crisis and for long-term development solutions, to include finding sustainable water access solutions for a large portion of the population.