IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 202 

Noting the absence of human rights as a topic of discussion in the U.S.- 

Saudi Strategic Dialogue between the United States and Saudi Arabia, 

and urging the President to include this subject in working level discussions with Saudi counterparts. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 3, 2007 

Mr. DELAHUNT (for himself, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. CROWLEY, and Mr. 

BERMAN) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Noting the absence of human rights as a topic of discussion 

in the U.S.-Saudi Strategic Dialogue between the United 

States and Saudi Arabia, and urging the President to 

include this subject in working level discussions with 

Saudi counterparts. 

Whereas President George W. Bush and His Excellency King 

Abdullah Abdul Aziz al-Saud agreed in May 2005 to establish a U.S.-Saudi Strategic Dialogue (‘‘Strategic Dialogue’’) under which the United States and Saudi Arabia 

would convene talks every 6 months; 

Whereas Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Minister of 

Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal created 6 working 

groups under the Strategic Dialogue’s auspices to ‘‘deal 


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•HCON 202 IH 

with functional issues and provide an institutional framework through which officials from a number of departments and Ministries from both governments work to 

constructively and comprehensively address a range of 

issues of importance to both countries’’; 

Whereas the working groups meet on an ‘‘as needed’’ basis 

and address the following topics: counterterrorism; military affairs; energy; economic and financial affairs; consular affairs; and partnership, education, exchange, and 

human development; 

Whereas the United States Department of State’s Human 

Rights Report on Saudi Arabia in 2007 found severe 

human rights abuses, including the infliction of severe 

pain by judicially-sanctioned corporal punishments; arbitrary arrest and detention; denial of fair public trials; exemption from the rule of law and lack of judicial independence; arbitrary interference with privacy, family, 

home, and correspondence; significant restriction of civil 

liberties such as freedoms of speech and press, including 

the Internet; assembly; association and movement, and 

minimal political rights, including no right to peacefully 

change the government; 

Whereas Freedom House has rated Saudi Arabia as a ‘‘Not 

Free’’ country for the past 34 years, and has consistently 

cited it as one of the 8 worst regimes in the world due 

to the severe restrictions on civil liberties and political 

rights, including a ban on political parties, tight government control over domestic media outlets, absence of religious freedom, academic freedom, or judicial independence; 

Whereas there is widespread legal and societal discrimination 

and violence against women, including a denial of equal 


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•HCON 202 IH 

educational opportunities, and severe work, dress and 

freedom of movement restrictions; 

Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom listed Saudi Arabia as a ‘‘Country of Particular Concern’’ in its 2007 report because there is no 

legal recognition or protection of religious freedom, it is 

severely restricted in practice; the government limits the 

practice of all but the officially sanctioned version of 

Islam and prohibits the public practice of other religions, 

including non-Muslim religions and Shi’a and Sufi sects; 

Whereas the Department of State’s 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report identified Saudi Arabia as a ‘‘Tier 3’’ category country, the poorest rating, due to its failure to 

take steps to eliminate involuntary servitude, particularly 

of domestic servants and to a lesser extent, commercial 

sexual exploitation; 

Whereas the promotion of human rights across the globe and 

especially in the Middle East furthers United States security interests; 

Whereas President Bush stated in his Second Inaugural Address that ‘‘We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success in our relations will 

require the decent treatment of their own people.’’; and 

Whereas President Bush stated in his Prague speech on June 

5, 2007, ‘‘The United States is also using our influence 

to urge valued partners like Egypt and Saudi Arabia and 

Pakistan to move toward freedom. . . . The United States 

will continue to press nations like these to open up their 

political systems, and give greater voice to their people. 

Inevitably, this creates tension. But our relationships 


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•HCON 202 IH 

with these countries are broad enough and deep enough 

to bear it.’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) commends the President for establishing the 

4 U.S.-Saudi Strategic Dialogue (‘‘Strategic Dia5 logue’’) to address mutual interests between the 

6 United States and Saudi Arabia; 

7 (2) expresses dismay that the Department of 

8 State did not originally include human rights as a 

9 topic of discussion; 

10 (3) applauds the President for stating in 

11 Prague that the ‘‘United States will continue to 

12 press’’ Saudi Arabia ‘‘to give greater voice to their 

13 people,’’ since freedom of expression is a vital 

14 human right; 

15 (4) agrees with the President’s statement in 

16 Prague that the relationship between the United 

17 States and Saudi Arabia ‘‘is broad enough and deep 

18 enough’’ to sustain a meaningful conversation about 

19 human rights; 

20 (5) concludes that the Strategic Dialogue is the 

21 logical mechanism through which to discuss the pro22 motion of human rights in Saudi Arabia; and 


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•HCON 202 IH 

1 (6) calls upon the President and the Secretary 

2 of State to expand the Strategic Dialogue and estab3 lish a new working group to address human rights. 

Æ 


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