We stand on PRO on the resolution. “Resolved: The United States should end its arms sales to Saudi Arabia.”
Zihan Gao
[Contention 1]: Yemen has suffered too much
[Sub point A]: Civilians
[Claim]: Unnecessary Civilians casualties
[Warrant 1]: The civilian death toll in the continuing war in Yemen has risen to
almost 2,800 amid accusations that the Saudi-led coalition is using cluster bombs and air strikes on populated areas. According to the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights (OHCHR), children were among the 81 civilians killed and 109 wounded in December. According to the most recent report by the OHCHR, there have been 17,062 civilian casualties since 2015, including 6,592 dead and 10,470
injured.
[Warrant 2]: The war has caused a humanitarian crisis, including a famine which has threatened 13 million people (“Yemen should be ‘worst famine in 100 years’”. BBC. 15
October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.), as well as an outbreak of cholera which has
infected an estimated 1.2 million. (“Yemen cholera outbreak accelerates to 10,000+ cases per week:WHO”ReutersIn) In November 2018, UNICEF described Yemen as “a
living hell of children” saying that every 10 minutes a child is dying due to
preventable diseases as a result of the war. “(Conflict in Yemen.” A living hell for children’”.www.unicef.org.Retrieved 2018-11-12) More than 85,000 children under age 5 may have died of starvation.(“’85,000 children have starved to death the Saudi-led intervention in even, says new report”. The Washington Post. 21 November 2018.)
[Impact]: It is becoming increasingly apparent that that Saudi Arabian-led coalition is turning a blind eye to civilian deaths and suffering caused by its military
intervention. The forced intervention of the United States and the arms trade led to
Saudi Arabia’s willful use of American weapons to harm innocent people, which was not only a lack of humanity or moral degradation, but also an use of international
relations. Even though the United States has been telling Saudi Arabia not to try to do dangerous things, they never listen to US, just ignore the warnings of the United States.The war in Yemen has brought nothing benefits to the United States, Saudi
Arabia or Middle East, but only a lack of resources and a lot of economic losses to the country. On current trends, the situation will only get more complicated if the United States does not exit soon.
[Sub point B]: Infrastructure
[Claim]: Unrecoverable destroyed infrastructure in Yemen
[Warrant ]: Airstrikes have targeted civilian areas like marketplaces, hospitals,
rehab centers for the blind, and funeral homes. Human Rights Watch has documented at least 16 attacks in which the coalition has used cluster bombs banned under
international law. Destruction of the country’s infrastructure has caused the spread of easily preventable diseases like cholera. The economy has been brought to a nearly complete standstill. Severe damage caused by attacks on Yemen’s essential civilian infrastructure such as airports in Sana’a and Hodeida by the Saudi-led military
coalition was obstructing the delivery of much-needed humanitarian assistance and movement of humanitarian personnel according to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).(“Yemen: MSF and ICRC alarmed by attacks on country’s infrastructure and humanitarian lifelines”. Medecins Sans Frontieres(MSF). 4 May 2015. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016.)/(“Yemen: UN relief
official urges’ safe and reliable’acess to dana’a airport to deliver critical aid”. UN News Centre. 4 May 2015. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016)/(“Statement y the Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Johannes VanDer Klaauw (4 May 2015)”.UN office for the Coordinated of Humanitarian Affairs, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen. 4 May February 2016. From the original on 16 February 2016)
In the first weeks since 26 March massive destruction of civilian infrastructure
particularly happened in Aden and Sa’da, according to OHCHR.(“Press briefing notes on Hungary, Yemen and Saudi Arabia”. UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 22 May 2015. Archived from the original on 23 May 2015)
[Impact]: The continuing of the war caused Yemen’s infrastructure issue get worse and worse, which means if the hospitals or houses get destroyed, then the people who are living in the houses will get hurt either. Not only directly on physical hurt but also on living conditions getting worse, those people will have no places to live and no resources to use. If following on this trend, it means the issues even more difficult to be solved. In order to solve it in a efficient way, there is only one thing suitable, which is ending arms sales, so that Saudi Arabia does not have any weapons to attack others. Otherwise, SA will lose lots of useful resources to rebuild their territories and infrastructure, which mean they just push themselves into a negative cycle, and make the issue least for a long time, never let it be fixed. For a long term perspective on this trend, the problems will never be solved, even getting worse.
[Sub point C]:Building Blockade
[Claim]: SA’s action of building blockade was not effective but
catastrophic.
[Warrant ]: The Saudi-led military offensive against the Houthis that began in the spring of 2015 has been brutal. Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, widely known as MBS, considers the war to be a priority in his agenda to ruthlessly confront Iran across the Middle East.
[Impact]: Due to US have given Saudi Arabia too much military funding, which eventually led to Saudi Arabia constantly testing the US and believing that the US would not make any move to stop or threaten them no matter what things they did with the US’s weapons. This led the Saudi Arabia developed a sense of extreme
confidence, and then try to do something treacherous, destructive, and with very
serious consequences. In order to solve the problems effectively, US must end the trade of selling the arms to SA, to overcome the blockade and other serious problems when SA was forced to get what it needed most.
For this reasons, we urge for Pro ballot.
Extra Evidence:
- SA are using US’s weapons to attack others:
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the t evidence shows that SA had been using US-supplied cluster bombs outlawed in much of the world. (“Yemen: Saudi Arabia used
cluster bombs, rights group says”.BBC News. 3 May 2015)
- Infrastructure:
At the beginning of May 2015, the Office of the UN Hight Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said, that there had been “ever destruction of civilian infrastructure, including houses, in many districts” since 26 March (“Press briefing notes on Yemen, Serbia, Honduras and Albinism website launch”. Office of the Big Commissioner for Human Rights. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.) (“Yemen conflict death toll nears 650, with UN rights office spotlighting plight of 3 million disabled”. UN News Centre. 5 May 2015. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015)