Rep. Ilhan Omar Introduces Joint Resolution to Block Over $650 million in Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
WASHINGTON—Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) today introduced two joint resolutions of disapproval to block the sale of $582 million worth of weapons from the United States of America to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and $85 million to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
"It is simply unconscionable to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia while they continue to kill and torture dissidents and support modern-day slavery," Rep. Omar said. “Saudi Arabia executed over 170 people in the last year alone—including executions just for Twitter posts. The United Arab Emirates have been violating the UN arms embargo in Darfur to support the RSF, which the State Department recently determined is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. They have also been arming the Ethiopian government, which has been accused of atrocities in Tigray, Amhara, and Oromia.”
The proposed sale includes aircraft hardware and software modifications and support worth up to $582 million for surveillance aircraft in Saudi Arabia, and allowing the UAE to purchases up to 18 portable munitions radar systems worth up to $85 million.
Rep. Omar has been a leading advocate for Congressional oversight over arms sales and accountability for human rights in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and around the world. In March, she reintroduced the Stop Arming Human Rights Abusers Act to establish red lines to automatically trigger a prohibition on security aid of any kind. In 2021, she called on the United States to act to end the blockade on Yemen. She met with White House officials in a classified briefing and joined hunger strikers outside the White House in protest.