On Wednesday, March 22, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is holding a hearing on "The State of Global Humanitarian Affairs." Gregory Gottlieb of USAID will testify, as will Yves Daccord, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross. [1] This is a key opportunity for Senators to press the Administration on what it will do to help avert famine in Yemen - and to press the Administration on why, by giving a green light to the Saudis to blockade and attack the crucial Yemeni port of Hodeida, the Administration is currently helping to cause famine in Yemen. [2] It's also a key opportunity for Senators to help highlight the advocacy of the Red Cross, which has called for access to Hodeida for aid organizations to bring in food and medicine to northern Yemen. [3] 53 Members of the House have called on the State Department to press to open Hodeida to food imports. [4] Senators should take this opportunity to echo this call.
Urge SFRC Senators to use the hearing to press for opening Hodeida to avert famine by signing our petition.
References:
1. "Flashing Red: The State of Global Humanitarian Affairs,"
https://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/flashing-red-the-state-of-global-humanitarian-affairs-032217
2. "Donald Trump’s Shift On Yemen Risks Plunging The Country Into Famine,"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-hodeidah-yemen-famine_us_58a88970e4b037d17d28610b
3. "Yemen conflict: Red Cross appeals for access to key port,"
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39114349
4.
https://lieu.house.gov/sites/lieu.house.gov/files/Letter%20to%20Tillerson%20from%20MoCs%20re%20Yemen%20Crisis%20030917.pdf
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