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 Government 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 Mohammed bin Salman is responsible for the murder of Jamal 

Khashoggi’’, a United States resident and renowned journalist; 

Whereas the President has not met his obligation to determine whether any foreign person, including the highest 

ranking officials in the Government of Saudi Arabia, is 


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 Arabia formally charged 10 women’s rights activists on 

charges of supporting ‘‘hostile elements’’, after being detained since May 2018 with no charges brought; 

Whereas reputable human rights nongovernmental organizations 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 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices of the Department of State; 

Whereas the 2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices highlight human rights violations by the Government of Saudi Arabia, including— 


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 assembly, 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 Practices 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 


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 population and in the absence of any verifiable military impact, 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 government of such country prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United 

States humanitarian assistance’’; 

Whereas subsection (a)(2) of section 502B of the Foreign Assistance 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 degrading treatment or punishment, prolonged detention without charges and trial, causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction and clandestine detention of those 

persons, and other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or the security of person’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) it is the sense of the Senate that— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•SRES 169 IS 

1 (A) the President should fully comply with 

2 the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Account3 ability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public 

4 Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) by issuing 

5 a determination, in response to the request sub6 mitted to the President on October 10, 2018, 

7 under section 1263(d) of that Act, with respect 

8 to the involvement of high-ranking officials of 

9 the Government of Saudi Arabia, including 

10 Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in the 

11 killing of Jamal Khashoggi; and 

12 (B) the United States should call upon the 

13 Government of Saudi Arabia— 

14 (i) to release all peaceful human 

15 rights activists, journalists, and religious 

16 minorities held in detention by that Gov17 ernment; and 

18 (ii) to take actions that reverse that 

19 Government’s gross violation of inter20 nationally recognized human rights; and 

21 (2) pursuant to section 502B(c)(1) of the For22 eign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1)), 

23 the Senate requests the Secretary of State to submit 

24 to Congress, in unclassified form, but with a classiVerDate 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 

1 fied annex if necessary, a statement with respect to 

2 Saudi Arabia setting forth— 

3 (A) the matters described in subpara4 graphs (A), (B), and (C) of such section; and 

5 (B) pursuant to subparagraph (D) of such 

6 section— 

7 (i) information on the involvement of 

8 the highest-ranking officials in the Govern9 ment of Saudi Arabia, including Crown 

10 Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in the 

11 murder of Jamal Khashoggi; 

12 (ii) information on the measures the 

13 Government of Saudi Arabia is taking to 

14 alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Yemen 

15 by increasing access for Yemenis to food, 

16 fuel, medicine, and medical evacuation, in17 cluding through the appropriate use of 

18 Yemen’s Red Sea ports, including the port 

19 of Hudaydah, the airport in Sana’a, and 

20 external border crossings with Saudi Ara21 bia; 

22 (iii) information on actions the Gov23 ernment of Saudi Arabia is taking to re24 duce the risk of harm to civilians and civil25 ian infrastructure resulting from military 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•SRES 169 IS 

1 operations of that Government in Yemen, 

2 including by— 

3 (I) complying with applicable 

4 agreements and laws regulating de5 fense articles purchased or transferred 

6 from the United States; and 

7 (II) taking appropriate steps to 

8 avoid disproportionate harm to civil9 ians and civilian infrastructure; and 

10 (iv) information on each incident for 

11 which the Joint Incidents Assessment 

12 Team in Yemen has reached a conclusion. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS