,,iii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #afi ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #aa1 #bjai ,mr4 ,merkley 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 ,mr4 ,leahy1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,mrs4 ,feinstein1 and ,mr4 ,kaine7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,,resolution ,requesting a statement under section #ejb;,b7c7 of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa with respect to violations of human rights by the ,government of ,saudi ,arabia4 ,whereas1 on ,december #ac1 #bjah1 the ,senate unanimously agreed to ,senate ,joint ,resolution #fi1 #aaeth ,congress1 stating that the ,senate believes ,crown ,prince ,mohammed bin ,salman is responsible for the murder of ,jamal ,khashoggi1 a ,united ,states resident and renowned journalist2 ,whereas the ,president has not met his obligation to determine whether any foreign person1 including the highest ranking officials in the ,government of ,saudi ,arabia1 is responsible for the gross violation of ,mr4 ,khashoggi's internationally recognized human rights2 ,whereas the ,government of ,saudi ,arabia has yet to publicly identify the #aa individuals indicted in connection with the killing of ,mr4 ,khashoggi1 #e of whom will reportedly face the death penalty if convicted2 ,whereas1 on ,march #ab1 #bjah1 the ,government of ,saudi ,arabia formally charged #aj women's rights activists on charges of supporting hostile elements1 after being detained since ,may #bjah with no charges brought2 ,whereas reputable human rights nongovernmental organizations allege that authorities of the ,government of ,saudi ,arabia have tortured at least #d of the #aj women's rights activists including the leader of the successful movement to grant women the rights to drive in ,saudi ,arabia1 ,aziza al-,yousef2 ,whereas ,samar ,badawi1 who was awarded the ,international ,women of ,courage ,award by the ,secretary of ,state in #bjab for her efforts to reform the discriminatory male guardianship system in ,saudi ,arabia1 is also among the group of #aj women's rights activists facing charges2 ,whereas the ,government of ,saudi ,arabia has detained not fewer than #abj peaceful advocates1 including blogger ,raif ,badawi and human rights lawyer ,waleed ,abu al-,khair1 part of a disturbing pattern of human rights violations by that ,government detailed in #ei pages of the #bjah ,country ,reports on ,human ,rights ,practices of the ,department of ,state2 ,whereas the #bjah ,country ,reports on ,human ,rights ,practices highlight human rights violations by the ,government of ,saudi ,arabia1 including-- 7#a7 executions for nonviolent offenses2 7#b7 forced renditions2 7#c7 forced disappearances2 7#d7 torture of prisoners and detainees by government agents2 7#e7 arbitrary arrest and detention2 7#f7 arrest and detention of political prisoners2 7#g7 restrictions on the freedoms of peaceful assembly1 association1 and movement2 7#h7 severe restrictions of religious freedom2 7#i7 citizens' lack of ability and legal means to choose their government through free and fair elections2 7#aj7 trafficking in persons2 7#aa7 violence and official discrimination against women2 and 7#ab7 criminalization of consensual same-sex sexual activity2 ,whereas the #bjah ,country ,reports on ,human ,rights ,practices also reference an ,august #bjah study1 commissioned by the ,united ,nations ,high ,commissioner for ,human ,rights1 which-- 7#a7 found that the military coalition led by ,saudi ,arabia was responsible for the majority of the civilian casualties in ,yemen that the ,united ,nations was able to verify from ,march #bjae to ,june #bjah2 and 7#b7 concluded that the coalition's repeated failures to avoid civilian casualties and exercise the proportionate use of military force violate international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes2 ,whereas that study also-- 7#a7 found that the military coalition restricted the flow of food1 medical supplies1 and fuel through ,yemen's critical ports of ,hudaydah and ,mokha1 and forced the closure of ,sana'a ,international ,airport2 and 7#b7 stated1 ,given the severe humanitarian impact that the de facto blockades have had on the civilian population and in the absence of any verifiable military impact1 they constitute a violation of the proportionality rule of international humanitarian law42 ,whereas section #fbj;,i7a7 of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bcgh-a7;a771 states that no assistance shall be furnished under that ,act or the ,arms ,export ,control ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bgea et seq47 to any country when it is made known to the ,president that the government of such country prohibits or otherwise restricts1 directly or indirectly1 the transport or delivery of ,united ,states humanitarian assistance2 ,whereas subsection 7a77#b7 of section #ejb;,b of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bcjd7 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 rights2 and ,whereas subsection 7d77#a7 of that section defines the term gross violations of international recognized human rights to include torture or cruel1 inhuman1 or degrading treatment or punishment1 prolonged detention without charges and trial1 causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction and clandestine detention of those persons1 and other flagrant denial of the right to life1 liberty1 or the security of person3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that-- 7#a7 it is the sense of the ,senate that-- 7,a7 the ,president should fully comply with the ,global ,magnitsky ,human ,rights ,accountability ,act 7subtitle ,f of title ,,xii of ,public ,law #aad-cbh2 #bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bfef note7 by issuing a determination1 in response to the request submitted to the ,president on ,october #aj1 #bjah1 under section #abfc7;d7 of that ,act1 with respect to the involvement of high-ranking officials of the ,government of ,saudi ,arabia1 including ,crown ,prince ,mohammed bin ,salman1 in the killing of ,jamal ,khashoggi2 and 7,b7 the ,united ,states should call upon the ,government of ,saudi ,arabia-- 7i7 to release all peaceful human rights activists1 journalists1 and religious minorities held in detention by that ,government2 and 7ii7 to take actions that reverse that ,government's gross violation of internationally recognized human rights2 and 7#b7 pursuant to section #ejb;,b7c77#a7 of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bcjd7;c77#a771 the ,senate requests the ,secretary of ,state to submit to ,congress1 in unclassified form1 but with a classified annex if necessary1 a statement with respect to ,saudi ,arabia setting forth-- 7,a7 the matters described in subparagraphs 7,a71 7,b71 and 7,c7 of such section2 and 7,b7 pursuant to subparagraph 7,d7 of such section-- 7i7 information on the involvement of the highest-ranking officials in the ,government of ,saudi ,arabia1 including ,crown ,prince ,mohammed bin ,salman1 in the murder of ,jamal ,khashoggi2 7ii7 information on the measures the ,government of ,saudi ,arabia is taking to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in ,yemen by increasing access for ,yemenis to food1 fuel1 medicine1 and medical evacuation1 including through the appropriate use of ,yemen's ,red ,sea ports1 including the port of ,hudaydah1 the airport in ,sana'a1 and external border crossings with ,saudi ,arabia2 7iii7 information on actions the ,government of ,saudi ,arabia is taking to reduce the risk of harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure resulting from military operations of that ,government in ,yemen1 including by-- 7,i7 complying with applicable agreements and laws regulating defense articles purchased or transferred from the ,united ,states2 and 7,,ii7 taking appropriate steps to avoid disproportionate harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure2 and 7iv7 information on each incident for which the ,joint ,incidents ,assessment ,team in ,yemen has reached a conclusion4