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[Pages S3469-S3470]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ENHANCING HUMAN RIGHTS IN ARMS SALES ACT
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I speak today about my votes on the
motions
[[Page S3470]]
to discharge Senate Joint Resolutions 20 and 26, which sought to block
the sales of certain weapons to Bahrain and Qatar respectively.
As many of you know, I have long been a champion of a U.S. foreign
policy driven by our values and respect for human rights. This applies
to our foreign military support and arms sales. We must ensure that our
military might and weapons only go to support partners and allies who
uphold our values. We have both a moral and a national security
obligation to ensure that U.S. weapons, equipment, and training are
never used to harm civilians, abuse human rights, or end up in the
hands of enemies who seek to do us harm.
With that in mind, I was pleased to lead the Enhancing Human Rights
in Arms Sales Act of 2019 with my colleagues from both sides of the
aisle. This bipartisan legislation would put into place strict vetting
criteria and end use monitoring for certain weapons sales to prevent
U.S.-provided weapons from going to governments who commit human rights
abuses and war crimes. I urge all of my colleagues to support this
important and necessary legislation.
Until my bill is enacted into law and its critical safeguards are in
place, it is incumbent upon Congress to evaluate each arms sale with
important considerations for civilian security and human rights.
I have carefully examined both of the sales before us today, and
applied the same criteria outlined in the Enhancing Human Rights in
Arms Sales Act.
Through this lens, I was compelled to vote in favor of discharging
S.J. Res. 20, so the Senate could debate the pending sale of various
bombs and precision-guided munitions to Bahrain. Domestically,
Bahrain's Ministry of Interior police forces were responsible for the
repression of the 2011 uprising, and well over 100 Bahrainis have been
killed in the course of repressing the Shia-led unrest. In the Yemen
conflict, the Bahrain Air Force is participating in Saudi-led coalition
airstrikes that have led to civilian casualties. This pending sale
would in fact provide munitions for Bahrain's F-16 aircraft, which
would almost certainly be used in Yemen. We know this because Air Vice
Marshall Hamad bin Abdullah al Khalifah, head of the Royal Bahraini Air
Force--RBAF--stated in February 2019 that Royal Bahraini Air Force F-
16s had conducted over 3,500 sorties, or combat aircraft flights, since
the beginning of the campaign in March 2015. With 3,500 sorties in
Yemen, we have to assume that Bahrain is responsible for some of the
civilian deaths caused by the coalition airstrikes in Yemen. I have
repeatedly voiced my opposition to U.S. support for the war in Yemen,
and we cannot risk our weapons leading to further repression in Bahrain
itself. I cannot support the sale of U.S. weapons to Bahrain at this
time.
The case of the pending sales to Qatar is quite different. There is
no doubt that Qatar has significant human rights challenges,
particularly with respect to its labor practices. That said, I have not
seen any evidence of the Qatari Government using arms against its
people. Moreover, Qatar's involvement in the Yemeni war was limited to
primarily defending the Saudi border from the Houthis, not conducting
airstrikes in Yemen. The Qataris left the Saudi-led coalition entirely
2 years ago. Qatar has proven itself an important and responsible
partner for the United States. The Qatar Air Force flew strikes,
alongside the U.S. and other partners, against the Islamic State in
Syria in 2014 and 2015. It also flew strikes against Qadhafi in Libya
in 2011, but again, this was in concert with international partners
including the United States. In light of these factors, I voted against
discharging S.J. Res. 26.
While both discharge motions failed, this issue will not go away
because one thing that we all can agree on is that no U.S. arms should
ever be linked to the deaths of innocent civilians. No U.S. arms should
ever be used to intimidate and destroy the defenseless. No U.S. arms
should ever end up in the hands a child soldier or a terrorist. We may
disagree on policy, but our values will always bridge the partisan
divide. That is why Congress and the administration must take a more
holistic look at this issue. My bipartisan bill, the Enhancing Human
Rights in Arms Sales Act of 2019, offers a comprehensive approach, and
I urge my colleagues to support its passage.
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