On Thursday, March 30, the YPP and the Arab Center for the Promotion of Human Rights hosted an event at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, to discuss the war in Yemen and the role of the United States in the conflict. Events like this are not officially sponsored by members of the US Senate, but are often referred to as "Senate briefings" because they are held primarily for the benefit of Senate staffers. The event was attended by congressional staff, representatives from NGOs, and members of the public. The discussion was moderated by YPP executive director Will Picard, and featured two guest speakers:
Radhya Almutawakel is the president of Mwatana Organization for Human Rights, an independent Yemeni organization working to defend and protect human rights in Yemen. Mwatana works on war crimes, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearance, and freedom of press throughout Yemen.
Sama’a Al-Hamdani is the founder of Yemeniaty, an independent organization working to promote better relations and understanding between Yemenis, policymakers, and relevant stakeholders in the United States. Al-Hamdani is an independent Yemeni writer, researcher and analyst focusing on Yemeni politics and women affairs. She is also currently a fellow with the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies.
Below is an undedited audio recording of the entire event. Please forgive the poor sound quality; we're working on a better version, and will update this post when possible.