US officials are reportedly trying to redact portions before it’s published, which could obscure important findings. In fact, what we know from the GAO report comes largely because of Congress’ reporting requirements.įirst, press the GAO to publish the full report. That’s why congressional oversight remains essential. Despite credible reports from the United Nations and civil society monitors detailing laws-of-war violations and likely war crimes, neither the State nor Defense Departments could, according to the report, “provide evidence” that they had “investigated any incidents of potential unauthorized use of equipment transferred to Saudi Arabia or UAE.”

Successive administrations argued they were tracking civilian casualties in Yemen and helping the coalition mitigate them through better targeting.īut the GAO report, obtained by Human Rights Watch, indicates that they’re likely not doing enough. We called for a suspension of these sales. Human Rights Watch and others have warned for years that US-made weapons sold to Saudi Arabia and the UAE may be being used to commit war crimes in Yemen and that US officials could be implicated. These findings show that Congress needs to get more involved in these weapons sales. © 2021 Andrea DiCenzo/Getty ImagesĪ new internal report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) – the congressional watchdog – found serious gaps in US government oversight of how arms sold to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are being used. A delegation from Saudi Arabia examines models of military equipment at the Dubai Airshow 2021, in the UAE on November 14, 2021.

Government watchdog article