Title: A concurrent resolution strongly condemning human rights violations, violence against civilians, and cooperation with Iran by the Houthi movement and its allies in Yemen.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This concurrent resolution (1) condemns the Houthi movement in Yemen for violence and humanitarian and other violations, (2) expresses concern about Iran's support for the Houthis, (3) urges parties in the Yemeni civil war to uphold a December 2018 ceasefire and withdrawal agreement, and (4) urges the U.S. government to support a peace process to end the civil war and humanitarian crisis.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 21 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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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;
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;
Whereas, on May 23, 2018, a Houthi missile hit a Turkish-flagged 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;
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
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) condemns the Houthi movement in Yemen for--
                    (A) its blatant disregard for human rights and 
                innocent life;
                    (B) its ideology of hate toward Israel and Jewish 
                people both in Yemen and around the world;
                    (C) preventing critical humanitarian aid from 
                reaching people in Yemen;
                    (D) the targeting of international commerce in the 
                Red Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait; and
                    (E) missile and drone attacks against civilians;
            (2) expresses concern about Iran's extensive support for 
        the Houthis and the economic and security consequences for the 
        region of an Iranian foothold on the Arabian Peninsula;
            (3) urges the Houthis and other parties in the Yemeni civil 
        war to uphold the terms of the December 2018 ceasefire and 
        withdrawal agreement agreed to in Stockholm, Sweden; and
            (4) urges the United States Government to support a peace 
        process to end the civil war and humanitarian crisis in Yemen 
        while preventing Iran and terrorist groups, including al Qaeda 
        in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic State of Iraq and 
        Syria--Yemen Province, from gaining a permanent foothold on the 
        Arabian Peninsula.
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