Since its onset in 2011, the Yemen war has claimed thousands of lives not only of insurgents, combatants and military personnel but, most importantly, of civilians. This unrest has resulted in increased involvement by regional and international stakeholders such as the United States and Saudi Arabia in the conflict. While maintaining the narrative of participation in the conflict for ending insurgency in the region, the Yemen war has consistently become a playground for strong powers to exert their military whereabouts, in turn resulting in human rights violations of innocent civilians. Rampant sale of arms to state and non-state actors by influential players such as the United States has further exacerbated the on-ground situation. This piece dives deeper into the arms sale undertaken by the United States in the Yemen war in order to gauge its impact on human rights violations in the country. 

A brief background of the war

A year after the onset of the Arab Spring, the Houthi movement, formerly known as Ansar Allah, advocated a series of rebellions against the Saleh government, leading to a forceful transfer of power to Mansour Hadi in 2011. In the coming years, the Houthis gained widespread support from the Yemenis as a result of abject poverty and political instability in 2014 and 2015, and were able to take control of the Yemeni capital of Sana’a. In retaliation, the security forces loyal to Saleh attempted to regain control over the country from the Houthis in 2015, compelling Hadi to recoup abroad. Consequently, the Shiite Houthis, backed by Iran, continued to gain abundant power in the country. As Hadi pleaded with neighbouring countries to intervene, Saudi-Arabia led the Operation Decisive Storm with other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in 2015 and militarily intervened in Yemen.

What has been its impact? 

It is rather conspicuous that such a military intervention undertaken by the countries was heavily armed, with the supply of various military-grade weapons consistently flowing in. While being enthralled in an intense conflict, the use of weapons rampantly targeted civilians, resulting in the death and injury of thousands. Since the beginning of the war in 2015 until today, about 15,000 civilians have been killed, mostly as a result of air strikes and direct military action between the two warring factions. 

OCHA Data on Civilian Deaths 

Based on the OCHA report on the Yemen war in 2015, about 86% of the people killed during the use of explosive weapons were civilians. Within the first seven months of 2015, air strikes, as well as other forms of explosive violence, resulted in the death or injury of at least 4,500 civilians. This spike in the death of innocent civilians is visible in the illustration above, where the onset of the Operative Decisive Storm plummeted significantly the civilian deaths and injuries caused due to air strikes from February 2015. This pattern of civilian casualties increased consistently even between 2018-2021, when the Saudi/UAE coalition committed the highest rate of air raids resulting in immense civilian casualties around the Hodeidah governorate.

The US-Saudi Arabia arms nexus

Value of US-Saudi arms deals until 2018

American sale of arms to Saudi Arabia dates back to the early 2000s, with both counterparts benefitting from the exchange of such economic relations on a large scale. 

In 2010, the Obama administration proposed the selling of weapons worth $60 billion to Saudi Arabia, the largest ever sale made to the latter in US history. In 2015, with the onset of Operation Decisive Storm, the US government authorised the sale of bombs worth $1.2 billion to the Kingdom. This trend continued with the introduction of the Trump administration; in 2017, the heads of state of both countries signed a series of letters of intent finalising the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia. 

The Dubious situation today

Prior to gaining the incumbent position of the government, the Biden administration ensured the US withdrawal of weapons sales to Saudi Arabia due to the casualties of the war. However, in 2021, under the façade of distinguishing between “offensive” and “defensive” weapons, the United States continued to sell missiles and other weapons to Saudi Arabia. As recently as August 2022, the sale of weapons includes $3 billion worth of Patriot missiles specifically designed to counter cross-border aerial attacks from the Houthis. 

While the United States continues to sell arms to Saudi Arabia, it consistently fails to assess the civilian casualties caused by its weapons in Yemen. The Arms Export Controls Act puts forth an obligation upon the United States government to report to Congress when news of unauthorised use of its weapons arises. In response to the same, while the Department of Defence reiterated multiple times that an informed decision is made keeping in mind “civilian harm” while selling arms to Saudi Arabia, there is a significant lack of a procedure to allow such an internal investigation. 

Can peace be achieved? 

With no end in sight to the conflict in Yemen, it is crucial that stakeholders are held accountable to minimise its impact on innocent civilians. Enthralled in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, Yemen has witnessed violence for almost a decade. While the United States, one of the biggest weapons manufacturers in the world, has consistently been benefitting from the unrest, it is imperative that reforms for accountability and transparency are undertaken not only domestically, but also globally through the United Nations. A revision of US foreign policy has been long overdue, particularly one that shifts focus on the sale of arms to countries that have been destroyed because of their use, such as in the case of Yemen.