,,iii  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #fac  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,august   
#bb1 #bjah ,mr4 ,merkley 7for himself1  
,ms4 ,warren1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mrs4       
,gillibrand1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,mr4 ,sanders1
 and ,mr4 ,leahy7 submitted the         
following resolution2 which was referred
 to the ,committee on ,foreign          
,relations  ,,resolution  ,requesting a 
report on the observance of and respect 
for human rights and fundamental freedom
 in ,saudi ,arabia4  ,whereas1 in ,july 
#bjah1 the ,government of ,saudi ,arabia
 detained prominent women rights        
activists ,samar ,badawi and ,nassima   
al-,sada2 ,whereas the ,united ,states  
,department of ,state presented ,ms4    
,badawi with the #bjab ,international   
,women of ,courage ,award in recognition
 of her efforts with regard to the      
discriminatory male guardianship system 
in ,saudi ,arabia2 ,whereas the         
,department of ,state has declined to   
express solidarity with the ,government 

of ,canada1 which reacted appropriately 
to news of the detention of ,ms4 ,badawi
 and ,ms4 al-,sada in expressing that it
 was gravely concerned about additional 
arrests of civil society and women's    
rights activists and calling upon ,saudi
 authorities to immediately release them
 and all other peaceful human-rights    
activists2 ,whereas the ,government of  
,saudi ,arabia reacted                  
disproportionately to criticism by the  
,government of ,canada by taking extreme
 retaliatory measures1 including--  7#a7
 expelling the ,ambassador of ,canada to
 ,saudi ,arabia and recalling the       
,ambassador of ,saudi ,arabia to        
,canada2  7#b7 ordering the return of   
citizens of ,saudi ,arabia living in    
,canada1 including more than #a1jjj     
medical students2  7#c7 shutting off new
 bilateral trade and investment with    
,canada2 and  7#d7 terminating direct   
commercial flights on ,saudi ,arabian   
air carriers between ,saudi ,arabia and 
,canada2  ,whereas ,canada is an        

indispensable ally in the ,north        
,atlantic ,treaty ,organization that    
shares the commitment of the ,united    
,states to equal rights and the rule of 
law and1 in defense of shared interests 
and values1 ,canada has fought and      
sacrificed alongside the ,united ,states
 in each of the ,world ,wars and has    
contributed to ,missions of the ,north  
,atlantic ,treaty ,organization in      
,afghanistan1 the ,balkans1 ,libya1 and 
,central and ,eastern ,europe2 ,whereas 
the arrest of ,ms4 ,badawi and ,ms4     
al-,sada1 as well as the ongoing        
detention of countless others such as   
blogger ,raif ,badawi and human rights  
lawyer ,waleed ,abu al-,khair1 is part  
of a disturbing pattern of human rights 
violations committed by the ,government 
of ,saudi ,arabia1 which are documented 
in more than #ej pages of the #bjag     
,human ,rights ,report of the           
,department of ,state2 ,whereas1 among  
the human rights violations by the      
,government of ,saudi ,arabia documented

 in that report1 are unlawful killings1 
torture1 arbitrary arrest and detention1
 restrictions on freedom of expression1 
violence and official gender            
discrimination against women1 and       
criminalization of same-sex sexual      
activity2 ,whereas the office of the    
,united ,nations ,high ,commissioner for
 ,refugees assesses that airstrikes     
carried out by ,saudi ,arabia and the   
,united ,arab ,emirates in ,yemen       
accounted for #hj percent of all        
civilian casualties from ,december #bjag
 to ,may #bjah in the #e governorates of
 ,yemen most affected by fighting2 and  
,whereas section #ejb;,b7a77#b7 of the  
,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb 
,u4,s4,c4 #bcjd7;a77#b77 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 rights3 ,now1          
therefore1 be it  ,that-- 7#a7 it is the
 sense of the ,senate that--  7,a7 the  

,president should offer public support  
to ,canada by calling upon the          
,government of ,saudi ,arabia to release
 ,samar ,badawi1 ,nassima al-,sada1     
,raif ,badawi1 ,waleed ,abu al-,khair1  
and all other peaceful human rights     
activists1 journalists1 and religious   
minorities held in detention by that    
,government on dubious charges2 and     
7,b7 the arrest of women's rights       
activists and their supporters since    
,may #bjah is contrary to the stated    
goals of the ,government of ,saudi      
,arabia2 and  7#b7 the ,senate requests1
 pursuant to section #ejb;,b7c77#a7 of  
the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa  
7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bcjd7;c77#a771 that the 
,secretary of ,state submit to ,congress
 a statement1 as required by that       
section1 setting forth all the available
 information about observance of and    
respect for human rights and fundamental
 freedom in ,saudi ,arabia4