The UK is helping to fuel the conflict in Yemen

Yemen needs our support, urgently. Its people are on the brink of famine, yet the UK Government has cut vital aid to the country. Conflict is deepening the humanitarian crisis, yet the UK is authorising arms exports that risk fuelling the violence.

You can make a difference today by writing to your MP to call for change. Here's everything you need to know to help you do this.

Cutting aid is a ‘death sentence’ 

On 1 March the UK Government announced it was cutting its aid to Yemen by more than half. This is despite the fact that Yemen is facing the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The UN has warned that any cuts in aid to Yemen are a 'death sentence'. Emergency food provisions are urgently needed to save the lives of millions of people at risk of starvation.

Six years of conflict have left the healthcare system in Yemen in ruins. Many hospitals have been destroyed, and now coronavirus case numbers in Yemen are rising again.

Feeding the conflict

The UK risks fuelling the conflict by allowing UK companies to sell weapons and by providing military support to Saudi Arabia – one of the major parties in the Yemen conflict. According to the UN, the UK has ‘continued their support of parties to the conflict including through arms transfers, thereby helping to perpetuate the conflict’.

Earlier this year, the United States and Italy announced they would stop selling weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in an effort to help end the fighting. We urge the UK Government to follow suit.

How writing to your MP will make a difference

MPs are elected to represent your voice in parliament, as well as to hold the government accountable for its actions. Writing to your MP will let them know that you find the government's recent actions on Yemen unacceptable. It will also give your MP a mandate to challenge the government over their policy decisions.

Take action now

We've written this sample letter that you can use as a template to write to your MP. Download it, edit it and then email it your MP.

If you're unsure who your MP is, or their contact details, you can use this website to help you.

The letters usually have more impact if they are personalised, so consider adding your own views about the aids cuts and weapon sales.

Please let us know if you write to your MP by emailing [email protected]. And please send us any replies you get, as they will help in our government lobbying.

Thank you for standing with the people of Yemen by taking this action. Together, we can show them that they have not been forgotten.