June 27, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 109 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page S4638]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 21--STRONGLY CONDEMNING HUMAN RIGHTS 
 VIOLATIONS, VIOLENCE AGAINST CIVILIANS, AND COOPERATION WITH IRAN BY 
              THE HOUTHI MOVEMENT AND ITS ALLIES IN YEMEN

  Mr. COTTON (for himself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Braun, Mr. 
Cornyn, Mr. Inhofe, and Mr. Cruz) submitted the following concurrent 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 21

       Whereas, in 2014 and 2015, the Houthi movement, also known 
     as Ansar Allah, and its allies attacked Yemen's 
     internationally recognized government and seized control of 
     the capital, Sana'a, and the port city of Aden;
       Whereas, since 2015, the Houthis have expanded their armed 
     campaign beyond Yemen's borders to target civilian 
     infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and possibly beyond, including 
     hundreds of missile and drone attacks against civilian 
     targets in Saudi Arabia that have killed innocent civilians;
       Whereas the Houthi movement's slogan is, ``God is great! 
     Death to America! Death to Israel! Curse upon the Jews! 
     Victory to Islam!'';
       Whereas al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic 
     State of Iraq and Syria--Yemen Province have taken advantage 
     of the Yemeni civil war to expand their territory and 
     resources;
       Whereas Iran and its proxies have provided direct 
     financial, material, and logistical support to the Houthis 
     for at least a decade;
       Whereas the United Nations Panel of Experts on Yemen has 
     found that Iran is in violation of United Nations Security 
     Council Resolution 2216 (2015) for supplying the Houthis with 
     missiles and drones;
       Whereas the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait between Yemen, Djibouti, 
     and Eritrea, which connects the Suez Canal and Red Sea to the 
     Indian Ocean, is a strategically important transit point for 
     a significant amount of global trade each year;
       Whereas the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait is the world's fourth-
     largest transit point for oil shipments;
       Whereas, in its January 2018 and January 2019 reports, the 
     United Nations Panel of Experts on Yemen expressed concern 
     that Houthi missile attacks and sea mines released in the Red 
     Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait threatened commercial shipping 
     and humanitarian aid;
       Whereas, in October 2016, the Houthis launched multiple 
     cruise missiles at United States Navy warships while they 
     were in international waters near the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait;
       Whereas, in July 2018, the Houthis attacked two Saudi oil 
     tankers transiting through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait;
       Whereas, on May 23, 2018, a Houthi missile hit a Turkish-
     flagged ship carrying wheat to a Yemeni port;
       Whereas the United Nations warned on February 14, 2019, 
     that approximately 24,000,000 people in Yemen are in need of 
     humanitarian assistance and protection, with most living in 
     territory currently held by the Houthis;
       Whereas the United Nations also estimates that 7,400,000 
     people in Yemen are in need of treatment for malnutrition, 
     including 2,000,000 children under 5 years of age;
       Whereas according to Human Rights Watch, the extensive use 
     of land mines by the Houthis has killed and maimed hundreds 
     of civilians and cut off entire communities from their crops, 
     clean water, and humanitarian aid;
       Whereas, on June 21, 2019, the World Food Programme 
     announced that it was partially suspending aid to parts of 
     Yemen controlled by the Houthis because of interference with 
     food distribution and aid convoys and the misappropriation of 
     food by Houthi officials;
       Whereas Reporters Without Borders estimated that, as of 
     March 2019, at least 16 journalists were being held hostage 
     by the Houthis, with 10 of them facing possible execution 
     following years of torture and starvation;
       Whereas, according to Human Rights Watch, the Houthis have 
     undertaken a deliberate campaign of kidnapping, torture, and 
     abuse against students, human rights defenders, political 
     opponents, and religious minorities;
       Whereas Houthi missile and drone attacks on June 12, 2019, 
     and June 23, 2019, killed 1 civilian and injured 47 others at 
     Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia;
       Whereas, according to United States Central Command, on 
     June 6, 2019, a Houthi surface to air missile shot down a 
     United States MQ-9 Reaper drone over Yemen, demonstrating a 
     new Houthi capability that United States Central Command 
     assessed was enabled by Iranian assistance;
       Whereas, on December 18, 2018, a cease-fire took effect in 
     the port of Hodeidah, Yemen, which is the entry point for 70 
     percent of humanitarian aid in the country;
       Whereas the Houthis did not begin removing their forces 
     from Hodeidah and two other ports, part of phase one of the 
     December 2018 ceasefire and withdrawal agreement agreed to in 
     Stockholm, Sweden, until May 2019;
       Whereas according to the United Nations monitoring mission 
     in Hodeidah, the Houthis had not removed many of their 
     military installations and equipment from the port city as of 
     June 12, 2019; and
       Whereas, on June 24, 2019, the United States, United 
     Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates released 
     a joint statement that raised concerns that Iranian 
     activities were destabilizing both Yemen and the broader 
     region, reaffirmed support for the efforts of United Nations 
     Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, and called on all parties in 
     Yemen to accelerate implementation of the Stockholm 
     agreement: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) condemns the Houthi movement in Yemen for--
       (A) its blatant disregard for human rights and innocent 
     life;
       (B) its ideology of hate toward Israel and Jewish people 
     both in Yemen and around the world;
       (C) preventing critical humanitarian aid from reaching 
     people in Yemen;
       (D) the targeting of international commerce in the Red Sea 
     and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait; and
       (E) missile and drone attacks against civilians;
       (2) expresses concern about Iran's extensive support for 
     the Houthis and the economic and security consequences for 
     the region of an Iranian foothold on the Arabian Peninsula;
       (3) urges the Houthis and other parties in the Yemeni civil 
     war to uphold the terms of the December 2018 ceasefire and 
     withdrawal agreement agreed to in Stockholm, Sweden; and
       (4) urges the United States Government to support a peace 
     process to end the civil war and humanitarian crisis in Yemen 
     while preventing Iran and terrorist groups, including al 
     Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic State of Iraq 
     and Syria--Yemen Province, from gaining a permanent foothold 
     on the Arabian Peninsula.

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