Ilhan Omar Demands a Ban on Selling Weapons to the UAE
Sudan Events – Follow-ups
US Member of House of Representatives, Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has introduced two joint resolutions to block arms sales worth $582 million from the USA to Saudi Arabia and $85 million to the UAE.
Representative Omar said: “Selling weapons to Saudi Arabia while it continues to kill and torture opponents and support modern slavery is unacceptable.” She added that Saudi Arabia carried out more than 170 death sentences last year alone, including executions merely for posts on Twitter. The UAE also violated the UN arms embargo in Darfur in support of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which the State Department recently determined were committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. They also armed the Ethiopian government, which has been accused of committing atrocities in Tigray, Amhara and Oromia.
The proposed sales include hardware and software modifications for the aircraft, support worth up to $582 million for surveillance aircraft in Saudi Arabia, and allowing the UAE to purchase up to 18 portable munitions radar systems worth up to $85 million.
Representative Omar has been a leading advocate for parliamentary oversight of arms sales and accountability for human rights in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and around the world.
In March, she reintroduced the Stop Arming Perpetrators of Human Rights Abuses Act to establish red lines that automatically trigger bans on security aid of any kind. In 2021, the United States called for action to end the siege on Yemen, as it met with officials at the White House.
