H. Res. 599 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

November 13, 2017. 

Whereas the United States has longstanding strategic interests in promoting security and stability in the Arabian 

Peninsula; 

Whereas the United States has a strategic partnership with 

the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates; 

Whereas in 2014, after years of violence and insurgency, Iranian-supported Houthi rebels seized the Yemeni capital 

city of Sana’a, deposing the legitimate, internationally 

recognized Government of Yemen and further destabilizing Yemen and the region; 

Whereas the Saudi-led Arab Coalition launched a military 

intervention in 2015 against the Houthi-Saleh alliance in 

response to the deposition of the legitimate Government 

of Yemen and Houthi-Saleh territorial gains in and 

around the port of Aden; 

Whereas the United States has longstanding strategic interests in Yemen, including ensuring freedom of navigation 

at the Bab al Mandab strait and countering the threats 

from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and AlQaeda franchises, and the Yemen affiliate of the Islamic 

State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS); 
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Whereas al-Qaeda was responsible for the bombing of the 

USS Cole in Aden, Yemen, in October 2000, which killed 

17 United States sailors, and for multiple successful and 

unsuccessful terrorist attacks internationally; 

Whereas in April 2015, the United Nations Security Council 

adopted United Nations Security Council Resolution 

2216 by 14 affirmative votes to none against, with one 

abstention (by the Russian Federation), imposing sanctions on individuals undermining the stability of Yemen, 

and demanded that the Houthis withdraw from all areas 

seized during the latest conflict, relinquish arms seized 

from military and security institutions, cease all actions 

falling exclusively within the authority of the legitimate 

Government of Yemen and fully implement previous Security Council resolutions; 

Whereas Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has 

transferred increasingly sophisticated weapons systems to 

the Houthis, who have in turn shot missiles into Saudi 

Arabia from positions in northern Yemen; 

Whereas in addition to weapons, Iran is reportedly providing 

Afghan and Shi’ite Arab specialists to train Houthi units 

and act as logistical advisers; 

Whereas the Iranian-supported Houthis have attacked coalition or coalition-affiliated maritime targets multiple 

times, an American ship twice, and other shipping, forcing the United States to respond with a combination of 

diplomacy and calibrated military strikes against three 

radar facilities in Houthi-controlled territory; 

Whereas the United States has participated in intelligence cooperation since 2015 and, pursuant to a cross-servicing 

agreement, has provided midair refueling services to 
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Saudi-led Arab Coalition warplanes conducting aerial 

bombings in Yemen against the Houthi-Saleh alliance, Al 

Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and in support 

of freedom of navigation threatened by Iranian-backed 

Houthi forces; 

Whereas, according to the United Nations Office of the High 

Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 10,000 Yemeni 

civilians have been killed in this conflict since 2015; 

Whereas the Saudi-led Arab Coalition has worked to improve 

their targeting processes and capabilities aimed at reducing unintended civilian casualties, and convened a Joint 

Incident Assessment Team to investigate the coalition’s 

adherence to the laws of armed conflict; 

Whereas the war in Yemen has contributed to a humanitarian crisis in Yemen, leading to an April 2017 announcement by the World Food Program that Yemen is 

on the brink of ‘‘full-scale famine’’, with approximately 

7,000,000 Yemenis, including 2,200,000 children, being 

classified as ‘‘severely food insecure’’; 

Whereas over 500,000 new cholera cases have been detected 

in Yemen, and approximately 2,000 people have died 

from cholera-related issues; 

Whereas the United States remains the largest donor of humanitarian assistance in Yemen; 

Whereas parties to the conflict continue to obstruct access by 

journalists and humanitarian organizations seeking to 

provide assistance; 

Whereas according to the Department of State’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2016, the conflict between Saudi-led 

Arab Coalition and the Houthi-Saleh alliance is counter-
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productive to ongoing efforts by the United States to 

pursue Al Qaeda and its associated forces; 

Whereas according to the intelligence community’s (as such 

term is defined in section 3(4) of the National Security 

Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4))) 2017 Worldwide 

Threat Assessment, ‘‘AQAP and ISIS’s branch in Yemen 

have exploited the conflict and the collapse of government 

authority to gain new recruits and allies and expand their 

influence’’; and 

Whereas to date, Congress has not enacted specific legislation 

authorizing the use of military force against parties participating in the Yemeni civil war that are not otherwise 

subject to the Authorization of Use of Military Force 

(Public Law 107–40) or the Authorization of Use of Military Force in Iraq (Public Law 107–243): Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) expresses the urgent need for a political solution 

in Yemen consistent with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216 (UNSCR 2216), or otherwise agreed 

to by the parties; 

(2) denounces the conduct of activities in Yemen 

and areas affected by the conflict that are, directly or indirectly, inconsistent with the laws of armed conflict, including the deliberate targeting of civilian populations or 

the use of civilians as human shields; 

(3) calls on all parties to the conflict to increase efforts to adopt all necessary and appropriate measures to 
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prevent civilian casualties and to increase humanitarian 

access; 

(4) supports the Saudi-led Arab Coalition’s commitments to abide by their no-strike list and restricted target list and improve their targeting capabilities; 

(5) condemns Iranian activities in Yemen in violation of UNSCR 2216, and calls on all responsible countries to take appropriate and necessary measures against 

the Government of Iran, including the interdiction of 

Iranian weapons to the Houthis, and the bilateral and 

multilateral application of sanctions against Iran for its 

violations of UNSCR 2216; 

(6) encourages other governments to join in providing the resources necessary to address the humanitarian crisis; and 

(7) calls on all parties to the conflict to allow for 

unobstructed access for humanitarian organizations, 

human rights investigators, medical relief personnel, and 

journalists. 

Attest: 

Clerk.