III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 21 

Strongly condemning human rights violations, violence against civilians, and 

cooperation with Iran by the Houthi movement and its allies in Yemen. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 27, 2019 

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 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Strongly condemning human rights violations, violence 

against civilians, and cooperation with Iran by the 

Houthi movement and its allies in Yemen. 

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; 


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•SCON 21 IS 

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; 


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•SCON 21 IS 

Whereas, on May 23, 2018, a Houthi missile hit a Turkishflagged 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; 


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•SCON 21 IS 

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 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) condemns the Houthi movement in Yemen 

4 for— 


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•SCON 21 IS 

1 (A) its blatant disregard for human rights 

2 and innocent life; 

3 (B) its ideology of hate toward Israel and 

4 Jewish people both in Yemen and around the 

5 world; 

6 (C) preventing critical humanitarian aid 

7 from reaching people in Yemen; 

8 (D) the targeting of international com9 merce in the Red Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb 

10 Strait; and 

11 (E) missile and drone attacks against civil12 ians; 

13 (2) expresses concern about Iran’s extensive 

14 support for the Houthis and the economic and secu15 rity consequences for the region of an Iranian foot16 hold on the Arabian Peninsula; 

17 (3) urges the Houthis and other parties in the 

18 Yemeni civil war to uphold the terms of the Decem19 ber 2018 ceasefire and withdrawal agreement agreed 

20 to in Stockholm, Sweden; and 

21 (4) urges the United States Government to sup22 port a peace process to end the civil war and human23 itarian crisis in Yemen while preventing Iran and 

24 terrorist groups, including al Qaeda in the Arabian 

25 Peninsula and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria— 


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•SCON 21 IS 

1 Yemen Province, from gaining a permanent foothold 

2 on the Arabian Peninsula. 

Æ 


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