A 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.

III 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 Govern- ment 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 Moham- med bin Salman is responsible for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi’’, a United States resident and renowned jour- nalist; Whereas the President has not met his obligation to deter- mine whether any foreign person, including the highest ranking officials in the Government of Saudi Arabia, is VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR169.IS SR169 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 169 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 Ara- bia formally charged 10 women’s rights activists on charges of supporting ‘‘hostile elements’’, after being de- tained since May 2018 with no charges brought; Whereas reputable human rights nongovernmental organiza- tions 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 Coun- try Reports on Human Rights Practices of the Depart- ment of State; Whereas the 2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Prac- tices highlight human rights violations by the Govern- ment of Saudi Arabia, including— VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR169.IS SR169 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 169 IS (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 assem- bly, 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 Prac- tices 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR169.IS SR169 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 169 IS 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 popu- lation and in the absence of any verifiable military im- pact, 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 govern- ment of such country prohibits or otherwise restricts, di- rectly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance’’; Whereas subsection (a)(2) of section 502B of the Foreign As- sistance 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 degrad- ing treatment or punishment, prolonged detention with- out charges and trial, causing the disappearance of per- sons by the abduction and clandestine detention of those persons, and other flagrant denial of the right to life, lib- erty, or the security of person’’: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That— 1 (1) it is the sense of the Senate that— 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR169.IS SR169 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •SRES 169 IS (A) the President should fully comply with 1 the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Account- 2 ability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public 3 Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) by issuing 4 a determination, in response to the request sub- 5 mitted to the President on October 10, 2018, 6 under section 1263(d) of that Act, with respect 7 to the involvement of high-ranking officials of 8 the Government of Saudi Arabia, including 9 Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in the 10 killing of Jamal Khashoggi; and 11 (B) the United States should call upon the 12 Government of Saudi Arabia— 13 (i) to release all peaceful human 14 rights activists, journalists, and religious 15 minorities held in detention by that Gov- 16 ernment; and 17 (ii) to take actions that reverse that 18 Government’s gross violation of inter- 19 nationally recognized human rights; and 20 (2) pursuant to section 502B(c)(1) of the For- 21 eign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1)), 22 the Senate requests the Secretary of State to submit 23 to Congress, in unclassified form, but with a classi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR169.IS SR169 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •SRES 169 IS fied annex if necessary, a statement with respect to 1 Saudi Arabia setting forth— 2 (A) the matters described in subpara- 3 graphs (A), (B), and (C) of such section; and 4 (B) pursuant to subparagraph (D) of such 5 section— 6 (i) information on the involvement of 7 the highest-ranking officials in the Govern- 8 ment of Saudi Arabia, including Crown 9 Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in the 10 murder of Jamal Khashoggi; 11 (ii) information on the measures the 12 Government of Saudi Arabia is taking to 13 alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Yemen 14 by increasing access for Yemenis to food, 15 fuel, medicine, and medical evacuation, in- 16 cluding through the appropriate use of 17 Yemen’s Red Sea ports, including the port 18 of Hudaydah, the airport in Sana’a, and 19 external border crossings with Saudi Ara- 20 bia; 21 (iii) information on actions the Gov- 22 ernment of Saudi Arabia is taking to re- 23 duce the risk of harm to civilians and civil- 24 ian infrastructure resulting from military 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR169.IS SR169 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •SRES 169 IS operations of that Government in Yemen, 1 including by— 2 (I) complying with applicable 3 agreements and laws regulating de- 4 fense articles purchased or transferred 5 from the United States; and 6 (II) taking appropriate steps to 7 avoid disproportionate harm to civil- 8 ians and civilian infrastructure; and 9 (iv) information on each incident for 10 which the Joint Incidents Assessment 11 Team in Yemen has reached a conclusion. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR169.IS SR169 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS