Rep. Johnson works to prevent Saudi Arabia from cluster bombing innocent civilians

Congressman leads effort with six colleagues to stop American-made bombs from being used in Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Armed Services Committee member Hank Johnson (GA-04) today offered an amendment to FY2017 defense spending that prevents the indiscriminate use of inhumane cluster munitions by Saudi Arabia in their intervention in the Yemeni Civil War.

The amendment -- known officially as the Conyers-Ellison-Grijalva-Lieu-McGovern-Johnson-Lee Amendment -- states that none of the funds made available by U.S. defense spending may be used to transfer or authorize the transfer of any cluster munitions to Saudi Arabia.

According to Amnesty International, Saudi Arabia and its military coalition have repeatedly bombed civilian areas in Yemen in their armed conflict with the Houthi armed group. The indiscriminate bombing in Yemen has led to the deaths of more than 3,000 civilians, including nearly 1,000 children and more than 2.8 million people being forced from their homes.

“Earlier this year, the Saudi led-coalition dropped cluster bombs in Yemen’s that struck a rehabilitation center for the blind – which also has a school for blind children,” said Johnson.

“The destruction of the school and the injuries sustained by the children were unbearably gruesome. This deliberate and reckless use of cluster munitions by Saudi Arabia highlights their complete disregard for the welfare of innocent people. This is unacceptable. We cannot ignore our duty to protect basic human rights values here and around the world. There is something fundamentally wrong with preaching human and civil rights here at home while we export death abroad. Rather, Congress must step up our efforts to keep such internationally reviled weapons out of the hands of those that would misuse them.”

The amendment was defeated on the House floor 204-216.