The Acts of Convention

House of Deputies

The House of Deputies Committee on Social Justice and International Policy presented its Report #2 on Resolution B013 (Response to Yemen Humanitarian Crisis) and moved adoption with amendment.

Original Text of Resolution:

(B013)

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 79th General Convention of The Episcopal Church note with deep concern and dismay the ongoing conflict in Yemen, now in its fourth year, and the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict, which has left 22 million people—three-quarters of the country’s population—in need of humanitarian assistance including food and clean water; and it be further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church call upon the U.S. government: 1) to observe the embargo of arms sales to all parties in the conflict, as called for by the United Nations, and specifically to avoid supplying munitions, military equipment or technology that could be used in the conflict, as well as logistical and financial support for such transfers; 2) to call upon all parties to the conflict to allow unobstructed access in the conflict areas for humanitarian relief organizations, medical relief personnel, human rights investigators, and journalists; and 3) to express an urgent need for a politically negotiated solution; and be it further

Resolved, That The Episcopal Church and Episcopal Relief and Development be encouraged to undertake, in partnership with the Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, relief and long-term economic development projects in areas such as education, job creation, and health care, as well as sustainable solutions for the lack of access to water, a primary source of conflict across the Middle East region that is one of the drivers of conflict across the Middle East region.

Committee Amendment:

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 79th General Convention of The Episcopal Church, as followers of Jesus Christ, recognize our moral imperative to address ournote with deep concern and dismay over the ongoing conflict in Yemen, now in its fourth year, and the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict, which has left 22 million people—three-quarters of the country’s population—in need of humanitarian assistance including food and clean water; and it be be it further

Resolved, That the 79th General Convention of The Episcopal Church That The Episcopal Church direct the Office of Government Relations to call upon the U.S. government: 1) to observe the embargo of arms sales to all parties in the conflict, as called for by the United Nations, and specifically to avoid supplying munitions, military equipment or technology that could be used in the conflict, as well as logistical and financial support for such transfers; 2) to call upon all parties to the conflict to allow unobstructed access in the conflict areas for humanitarian relief organizations, medical relief personnel, human rights investigators, and journalists; and 3) to express an urgent need for a politically negotiated solution; and be it further

Resolved, That the 79th General Convention of The Episcopal Church recognize that throughout the Middle East region access to water and sustainable agriculture are serious problems and a primary source of conflict; and encourage The Episcopal Church and Episcopal Relief and Development be encouragedto undertake, in partnership with the Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, relief and long-term economic development projects in areas such as education, job creation, and health care, as well as sustainable solutions for the lack of access to water, a primary source of conflict across the Middle East region that is one of the drivers of conflict across the Middle East region.

Motion carried

Resolution adopted with amendment

(Communicated to the House of Bishops in HD Message #14)