Title: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to United States policy towards Yemen, and for other purposes.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Expresses the urgent need for a political solution in Yemen consistent with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216 or as otherwise agreed to by the parties.
Denounces the conduct of activities in Yemen and areas affected by the conflict that are inconsistent with the laws of armed conflict, including the deliberate targeting of civilian populations or the use of civilian human shields.
Calls on all parties to the conflict to: (1) increase efforts to prevent civilian casualties and increase humanitarian access; and (2) allow for unobstructed access for humanitarian organizations, human rights investigators, medical relief personnel, and journalists.
Supports the Saudi-led Arab Coalition's commitments to abide by their no-strike and restricted target list and improve their targeting capabilities.
Condemns Iranian activities in Yemen in violation in such resolution and calls on all responsible countries to take necessary measures against Iran, including the interdiction of Iranian weapons to the Houthi rebels and the application of sanctions against Iran.
Encourages other governments to join in providing the resources necessary to address the humanitarian crisis.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 599 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 599

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to 
      United States policy towards Yemen, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 1, 2017

   Mr. Khanna (for himself and Mr. McGovern) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to 
      United States policy towards Yemen, and for other purposes.

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 
        Al-Qaeda franchises, and the Yemen affiliate of the Islamic State of 
        Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS);
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 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 counterproductive 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 
        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.
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