Saudi Arabia Human Rights and Accountability Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2351 To promote human rights and accountability in Saudi Arabia, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 31, 2019 Mr. COONS (for himself and Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To promote human rights and accountability in Saudi Arabia, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Saudi Arabia Human 4 Rights and Accountability Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2351.IS S2351 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2351 IS SEC. 2. REPORT ON INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY ASSESS- 1 MENT RELATING TO THE KILLING OF WASH- 2 INGTON POST COLUMNIST JAMAL KHASHOG- 3 GI. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National 6 Intelligence shall submit to the appropriate congressional 7 committees a report consisting of— 8 (1) a determination and presentation of evi- 9 dence with respect to the advance knowledge and 10 role of any current or former official of the Govern- 11 ment of Saudi Arabia or any current or former sen- 12 ior political figure of Saudi Arabia in the directing, 13 ordering, or tampering of evidence in the killing of 14 Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi; and 15 (2) a list of foreign persons that the Director 16 has high confidence— 17 (A) were responsible for, or complicit in, 18 ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing an 19 act or acts causing or contributing to the death 20 of Jamal Khashoggi; 21 (B) knowingly and materially assisted, 22 sponsored, or provided financial, material, or 23 technological support for, or goods or services 24 in support of, an act described in subparagraph 25 (A); or 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2351.IS S2351 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2351 IS (C) impeded the impartial investigation of 1 the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, including 2 through the tampering of evidence relating to 3 the investigation. 4 (b) FORM.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The report required by sub- 6 section (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, 7 but may include a classified annex. 8 (2) NAMES OF FOREIGN PERSONS LISTED.— 9 The name of each foreign person on the list required 10 by subsection (a)(2) shall be included in the unclas- 11 sified portion of the report required by subsection 12 (a) unless the Director determines that disclosing 13 the name of the person would undermine United 14 States intelligence sources and methods or threaten 15 the national security interests of the United States. 16 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 17 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 18 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 19 mittees’’ means— 20 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 21 and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 22 Senate; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2351.IS S2351 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2351 IS (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 1 the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 2 of the House of Representatives. 3 (2) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’, with 4 respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, 5 means that a person has actual knowledge, or should 6 have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the 7 result. 8 SEC. 3. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOREIGN PERSONS 9 THAT ENGAGE IN ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED IN 10 SECTION 2(a)(2). 11 (a) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—On and after the 12 date that is 120 days after the date of the enactment of 13 this Act, the sanctions described in subsection (b) shall 14 be imposed with respect to each foreign person on the list 15 required by section 2(a)(2). 16 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 17 (1) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—A foreign 18 person on the list required by section 2(a)(2) is— 19 (A) inadmissible to the United States; 20 (B) ineligible to receive a visa or other doc- 21 umentation to enter the United States; and 22 (C) otherwise ineligible to be admitted or 23 paroled into the United States or to receive any 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2351.IS S2351 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2351 IS other benefit under the Immigration and Na- 1 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 2 (2) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—A foreign person on the 4 list required by section 2(a)(2) is subject to rev- 5 ocation of any visa or other entry documenta- 6 tion, regardless of when the visa or other entry 7 documentation is or was issued. 8 (B) IMMEDIATE EFFECT.—A revocation 9 under subparagraph (A) shall— 10 (i) take effect immediately; and 11 (ii) automatically cancel any other 12 valid visa or entry documentation that is in 13 the alien’s possession. 14 (c) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTERNATIONAL 15 OBLIGATIONS.—Sanctions under subsection (b) shall not 16 apply with respect to a foreign person if admitting or pa- 17 roling the person into the United States is necessary to 18 permit the United States to comply with the Agreement 19 regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed 20 at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 21 November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the 22 United States, or other applicable international obliga- 23 tions. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2351.IS S2351 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2351 IS (d) WAIVER IN THE INTEREST OF NATIONAL SECU- 1 RITY.—The President may waive the application of sub- 2 section (b) with respect to a foreign person who is A–1 3 visa eligible and who is present in or seeking admission 4 into the United States for purposes of official business if 5 the President— 6 (1) determines that such a waiver is in the na- 7 tional security interests of the United States; and 8 (2) not later than 15 days before granting of 9 the waiver, submits to the appropriate congressional 10 committees written notice of, and justification for, 11 the waiver. 12 (e) SUSPENSION OF SANCTIONS.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may suspend 14 in whole or in part the imposition of sanctions other- 15 wise required under this section for periods not to 16 exceed 180 days if the President certifies to the ap- 17 propriate congressional committees that the fol- 18 lowing criteria have been met in Saudi Arabia: 19 (A) The Government of Saudi Arabia has 20 released any individual who is a journalist, 21 blogger, human rights defender, advocate for 22 religious liberty, or civil society activist detained 23 by the Government of Saudi Arabia. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2351.IS S2351 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2351 IS (B) The Government of Saudi Arabia is 1 cooperating in outstanding criminal proceedings 2 in the United States in which a citizen or na- 3 tional of Saudi Arabia departed from the 4 United States while the citizen or national was 5 awaiting trial or sentencing for a criminal of- 6 fense committed in the United States. 7 (C) The Government of Saudi Arabia is re- 8 fraining from the obstruction of the free expres- 9 sion of opinion and restriction of individuals 10 from engaging in public criticism of the political 11 sphere. 12 (D) The Government of Saudi Arabia has 13 made verifiable commitments to cease the prac- 14 tice of harming citizens of Saudi Arabia con- 15 ducting peaceful dissent, whether or not those 16 citizens reside in Saudi Arabia, including en- 17 forced repatriation, disappearance, arrest, im- 18 prisonment, or harassment. 19 (E) The Government of Saudi Arabia has 20 taken verifiable steps to hold accountable citi- 21 zens and nationals of Saudi Arabia who violate 22 human rights, whether or not those violations 23 took place in Saudi Arabia. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2351.IS S2351 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2351 IS (F) The Government of Saudi Arabia has 1 taken verifiable steps to repeal any law or regu- 2 lation that requires women in Saudi Arabia to 3 obtain approval from a male guardian in order 4 to leave the country. 5 (G) The Government of Saudi Arabia— 6 (i) has made public the names of all 7 individuals under prosecution for the mur- 8 der of Jamal Khashoggi and associated 9 crimes and the details of the charges such 10 individuals face; 11 (ii) has made public the trial pro- 12 ceedings and all evidence against the ac- 13 cused; 14 (iii) has invited international, inde- 15 pendent experts to monitor the trials; 16 (iv) has made public details of efforts 17 to establish the location of Jamal Kha- 18 shoggi’s remains and associated findings 19 and returned his body to his family; and 20 (v) has made public the rationale for 21 why 10 of the individuals initially detained 22 relating to his death were later released 23 without charge. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2351.IS S2351 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2351 IS (H) The Government of Saudi Arabia has 1 disbanded any units of its intelligence or secu- 2 rity apparatus dedicated to the forced repatri- 3 ation of dissidents in other countries. 4 (I) The Government of Saudi Arabia is co- 5 operating with efforts to investigate the murder 6 of Jamal Khashoggi being conducted by law en- 7 forcement authorities in the United States and 8 Turkey, or by the United Nations. 9 (2) REPORT.—The President shall submit to 10 the appropriate congressional committees with the 11 certification under paragraph (1) a report that con- 12 tains a detailed description of the adherence of 13 Saudi Arabia to the criteria described in the certifi- 14 cation. 15 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 16 (1) ADMITTED; ALIEN; NATIONAL.—The terms 17 ‘‘admitted’’, ‘‘alien’’, and ‘‘national’’ have the mean- 18 ings given those terms in section 101 of the Immi- 19 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 20 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 21 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 22 mittees’’ means— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2351.IS S2351 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2351 IS (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 1 the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Select 2 Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; and 3 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 4 Committee on the Judiciary, and the Perma- 5 nent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 6 House of Representatives. 7 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per- 8 son’’ means an individual who is a citizen or na- 9 tional of a foreign country (including any such indi- 10 vidual who is also a citizen or national of the United 11 States). 12 (4) FOREIGN PERSON WHO IS A–1 VISA ELIGI- 13 BLE.—The term ‘‘foreign person who is A–1 visa eli- 14 gible’’ means an alien described in section 15 101(a)(15)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality 16 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(A)(i)). 17 (5) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 18 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 19 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law- 20 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 21 United States; or 22 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 23 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2351.IS S2351 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2351 IS United States, including a foreign branch of 1 such an entity. 2 SEC. 4. REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD OF SAUDI 3 ARABIA. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 6 in accordance with section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assist- 7 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(c)), shall submit to the 8 appropriate congressional committees a report in writing 9 that— 10 (1) includes the information required under 11 paragraph (1) of such section 502B(c) with respect 12 to Saudi Arabia; 13 (2) assesses the extent to which officials of the 14 Government of Saudi Arabia, including members of 15 the military or security services, are responsible for 16 or complicit in gross violations of internationally rec- 17 ognized human rights, including violations of the 18 human rights of journalists, bloggers, human rights 19 defenders, civil society activists, and individuals who 20 support women’s rights or religious freedom; 21 (3) describes those violations of human rights; 22 (4) describes United States actions to address 23 those violations of human rights, including demands 24 for clemency review of the cases; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2351.IS S2351 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2351 IS (5) describes any intolerant content in edu- 1 cational materials published by the Ministry of Edu- 2 cation of Saudi Arabia that are used in schools in- 3 side Saudi Arabia and at schools throughout the 4 world; and 5 (6) describes United States actions to encour- 6 age the Government of Saudi Arabia to retrieve and 7 destroy materials with intolerant material and revise 8 teacher manuals and retrain teachers to reflect 9 changes in educational materials and promote toler- 10 ance. 11 (b) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) 12 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include 13 a classified annex. 14 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE- 15 FINED.—In the section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres- 16 sional committees’’ means— 17 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 18 the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; 19 and 20 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 21 Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 22 House of Representatives. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2351.IS S2351 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS