To: Rep. Gwen Moore (WI-4) and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (WI-2)
.@SenatorBaldwin & @RepGwenMoore: Don't Send Cluster Bombs to Saudi Arabia
Just Foreign Policy
Introduce an amendment to the NDAA barring the transfer of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia.
Why is this important?
Since cluster bombs release many small bomblets over a wide area, they pose heightened risks to civilians both during attacks and afterwards. During attacks, the weapons are prone to indiscriminate effects, especially in populated areas. Unexploded bomblets can kill or maim civilians long after a conflict has ended, and are costly to locate and remove. That's why more than a hundred nations have joined the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits all use, production, transfer and stockpiling of these weapons. [1]
Saudi Arabia has used cluster bombs in its war in Yemen, according to Human Rights Watch. [2] HRW documented the remnants of a CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapon, a cluster bomb manufactured by Textron Systems Corporation in the US and supplied to Saudi Arabia. [3] Although the US is not yet a member of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, US law bars the sale of these weapons to countries that use them in civilian areas. [4] But according to Human Rights Watch, Saudi Arabia did use these weapons in a civilian area. [5]
Urge Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin and Milwaukee Representative Gwen Moore to advocate for a ban on sending these weapons to Saudi Arabia, including in the National Defense Authorization Act, by signing our petition.
References:
1. http://www.clusterconvention.org/
2. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/03/world/middleeast/saudi-led-group-said-to-use-cluster-bombs-in-yemen.html
3. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32572408
4. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32572408
5. https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/05/03/yemen-saudi-led-airstrikes-used-cluster-munitions
Saudi Arabia has used cluster bombs in its war in Yemen, according to Human Rights Watch. [2] HRW documented the remnants of a CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapon, a cluster bomb manufactured by Textron Systems Corporation in the US and supplied to Saudi Arabia. [3] Although the US is not yet a member of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, US law bars the sale of these weapons to countries that use them in civilian areas. [4] But according to Human Rights Watch, Saudi Arabia did use these weapons in a civilian area. [5]
Urge Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin and Milwaukee Representative Gwen Moore to advocate for a ban on sending these weapons to Saudi Arabia, including in the National Defense Authorization Act, by signing our petition.
References:
1. http://www.clusterconvention.org/
2. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/03/world/middleeast/saudi-led-group-said-to-use-cluster-bombs-in-yemen.html
3. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32572408
4. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32572408
5. https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/05/03/yemen-saudi-led-airstrikes-used-cluster-munitions