[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 169 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 169
Requesting a statement under section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 with respect to violations of human rights by the
Government of Saudi Arabia.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 11, 2019
Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr.
Van Hollen, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Wyden, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mr. Kaine)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Requesting a statement under section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 with respect to violations of human rights by the
Government of Saudi Arabia.
Whereas, on December 13, 2018, the Senate unanimously agreed to Senate Joint
Resolution 69, 115th Congress, stating that the Senate ``believes Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman is responsible for the murder of Jamal
Khashoggi'', a United States resident and renowned journalist;
Whereas the President has not met his obligation to determine whether any
foreign person, including the highest ranking officials in the
Government of Saudi Arabia, is responsible for the gross violation of
Mr. Khashoggi's internationally recognized human rights;
Whereas the Government of Saudi Arabia has yet to publicly identify the 11
individuals indicted in connection with the killing of Mr. Khashoggi, 5
of whom will reportedly face the death penalty if convicted;
Whereas, on March 12, 2018, the Government of Saudi Arabia formally charged 10
women's rights activists on charges of supporting ``hostile elements'',
after being detained since May 2018 with no charges brought;
Whereas reputable human rights nongovernmental organizations allege that
authorities of the Government of Saudi Arabia have tortured at least 4
of the 10 women's rights activists including the leader of the
successful movement to grant women the rights to drive in Saudi Arabia,
Aziza al-Yousef;
Whereas Samar Badawi, who was awarded the International Women of Courage Award
by the Secretary of State in 2012 for her efforts to reform the
discriminatory male guardianship system in Saudi Arabia, is also among
the group of 10 women's rights activists facing charges;
Whereas the Government of Saudi Arabia has detained not fewer than 120 peaceful
advocates, including blogger Raif Badawi and human rights lawyer Waleed
Abu al-Khair, part of a disturbing pattern of human rights violations by
that Government detailed in 59 pages of the 2018 Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices of the Department of State;
Whereas the 2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices highlight human
rights violations by the Government of Saudi Arabia, including--
(1) executions for nonviolent offenses;
(2) forced renditions;
(3) forced disappearances;
(4) torture of prisoners and detainees by government agents;
(5) arbitrary arrest and detention;
(6) arrest and detention of political prisoners;
(7) restrictions on the freedoms of peaceful assembly, association, and
movement;
(8) severe restrictions of religious freedom;
(9) citizens' lack of ability and legal means to choose their
government through free and fair elections;
(10) trafficking in persons;
(11) violence and official discrimination against women; and
(12) criminalization of consensual same-sex sexual activity;
Whereas the 2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices also reference an
August 2018 study, commissioned by the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights, which--
(1) found that the military coalition led by Saudi Arabia was
responsible for the majority of the civilian casualties in Yemen that the
United Nations was able to verify from March 2015 to June 2018; and
(2) concluded that the coalition's repeated failures to avoid civilian
casualties and exercise the proportionate use of military force violate
international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes;
Whereas that study also--
(1) found that the military coalition restricted the flow of food,
medical supplies, and fuel through Yemen's critical ports of Hudaydah and
Mokha, and forced the closure of Sana'a International Airport; and
(2) stated, ``Given the severe humanitarian impact that the de facto
blockades have had on the civilian population and in the absence of any
verifiable military impact, they constitute a violation of the
proportionality rule of international humanitarian law.'';
Whereas section 620I(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2378-
1(a)), states that no assistance shall be furnished under that Act or
the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) to any country
``when it is made known to the President that the government of such
country prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the
transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance'';
Whereas subsection (a)(2) of section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
(22 U.S.C. 2304) states that ``no security assistance may be provided to
any country the government of which engages in a consistent pattern of
gross violations of internationally recognized human rights''; and
Whereas subsection (d)(1) of that section defines the term ``gross violations of
international recognized human rights'' to include ``torture or cruel,
inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, prolonged detention
without charges and trial, causing the disappearance of persons by the
abduction and clandestine detention of those persons, and other flagrant
denial of the right to life, liberty, or the security of person'': Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That--
(1) it is the sense of the Senate that--
(A) the President should fully comply with the
Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act
(subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114-328; 22
U.S.C. 2656 note) by issuing a determination, in
response to the request submitted to the President on
October 10, 2018, under section 1263(d) of that Act,
with respect to the involvement of high-ranking
officials of the Government of Saudi Arabia, including
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in the killing of
Jamal Khashoggi; and
(B) the United States should call upon the
Government of Saudi Arabia--
(i) to release all peaceful human rights
activists, journalists, and religious
minorities held in detention by that
Government; and
(ii) to take actions that reverse that
Government's gross violation of internationally
recognized human rights; and
(2) pursuant to section 502B(c)(1) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1)), the Senate
requests the Secretary of State to submit to Congress, in
unclassified form, but with a classified annex if necessary, a
statement with respect to Saudi Arabia setting forth--
(A) the matters described in subparagraphs (A),
(B), and (C) of such section; and
(B) pursuant to subparagraph (D) of such section--
(i) information on the involvement of the
highest-ranking officials in the Government of
Saudi Arabia, including Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman, in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi;
(ii) information on the measures the
Government of Saudi Arabia is taking to
alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Yemen by
increasing access for Yemenis to food, fuel,
medicine, and medical evacuation, including
through the appropriate use of Yemen's Red Sea
ports, including the port of Hudaydah, the
airport in Sana'a, and external border
crossings with Saudi Arabia;
(iii) information on actions the Government
of Saudi Arabia is taking to reduce the risk of
harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure
resulting from military operations of that
Government in Yemen, including by--
(I) complying with applicable
agreements and laws regulating defense
articles purchased or transferred from
the United States; and
(II) taking appropriate steps to
avoid disproportionate harm to
civilians and civilian infrastructure;
and
(iv) information on each incident for which
the Joint Incidents Assessment Team in Yemen
has reached a conclusion.
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