Do European Parliament Resolution Accelerate End to War on Yemen?

 There is a major move to end the war on Yemen, especially in the wake of US President Joe Biden’s decision to stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia and cancel the decision to designate Ansarullah as terrorists, Wikileaks website said.

The site inferred the position and decisions of the European Parliament, which dealt with the war on Yemen strictly on the 11th of February.

The report said that the resolution submitted by the Belgian politician and Member of the European Parliament for the French Community of Belgium Marc Tarabella had the approval of more than 90% of the members of the European Parliament. It is a resolution in which the Union members called to stop all arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE and to refer human rights violations in Yemen to the International Criminal Court.

Marc’s proposal also urged European Union governments to use a human rights sanctions mechanism to target Saudi-Emirati officials as well as all those involved in war crimes in Yemen. They called for Saudi Arabia and the UAE to be suspended from UNESCO due to their role in destroying the cultural and architectural heritage of Yemen.

The report identified what it described as elements of strength in the European move. The decision considered that the ongoing arms sales by France, Spain and Belgium are inconsistent with the European Union’s common position on the arms trade. This means the decision will lead to individual charges being brought against European officials who continue to authorize arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, especially since the decision is related to the call to refer violations in Yemen to the International Criminal Court.

The resolution noted that at a time when highlighting the role of Saudi Arabia in the war on Yemen, this time the focus was on the UAE in a very detailed way.

Members of the European Parliament also strongly supported the concept of Yemen’s territorial integrity, in a clear rebuke to the separatist Southern Transitional Council backed by the UAE.

The third strength of the resolution on the arms embargo was more supported than in previous times, 407 of the 694 deputies voted in favor of the ban. This is 57 votes higher than the last time such a vote was held in January, as part of a more general report on the European Union’s foreign and security policy.

The narrative pushed by the Saudis and the Emiratis to blame Iran as the main cause of the conflict failed to convince members of the European Parliament. Evidence of this is the rejection of the last minute amendment presented by the European Committee of Resistance, which accused Iran of sending mercenaries from “Hezbollah” to fight in Yemen.

The resolution passed clearly stated that the civilian deaths in Yemen were caused by the Saudi-led air strikes. The report concluded by saying: “The resolution is part of a growing international effort to end the political and humanitarian disaster in Yemen and hold those responsible accountable.”