Contact: Alli McCracken, CODEPINK Co-Director, 860.575.5692, [email protected] 

Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK Co-founder, 415.235.6517, [email protected]

Washington, DC | May 28, 2016 

CODEPINK applauds the administration’s decision to block the sale of cluster munitions to Saudi Arabia and calls on President Obama to suspend all arms transfers to the kingdom. Saudi Arabia has been illegally using cluster munitions as a part of its year-long assault on Yemen, which has resulted in the death of over 6,000 people–– at least half of them civilians. 

CODEPINK Co-director Alli McCracken said, ”the US suspension of cluster bomb sales to Saudi Arabia is a step in the right direction. Now that the Obama administration seems to acknowledge that Saudi Arabia has used US weapons to commit war crimes, it should immediately suspend all weapons sales to the kingdom.” 

Cluster bombs, sold to Saudi Arabia by the American company Textron Defense Inc. and approved by the US State Department, release hundreds of bomblets that indiscriminately kill civilians. Unexploded bomblets are often picked up by children who are seriously injured or killed. There is an international treaty banning the use of these horrific weapons–– a treaty that neither Saudi Arabia nor the United States has signed. 

Learn more about the CODEPINK campaign to reevaluate the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia at www.codepink.org/saudiarabia and stay tuned for CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin's forthcoming book "Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the US-Saudi Connection."

Founded in 2002, CODEPINK is a women-led peace organization working to end US wars and militarism, challenge American alliances with repressive regimes, support peace and human rights initiatives, and redirect out tax dollars into healthcare, education, green jobs, and other life-affirming activities.