Saudi Arabia Human Rights and Accountability Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2037. I am very proud to be a cosponsor of this bill, and I want to commend the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Malinowski), my good friend and colleague, for his long commitment to human rights and his leadership on this issue. I also want to thank Chairman Engel for working to ensure that this bill came before the House for consideration.

Mr. Speaker, it has been nearly 10 months since Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident, journalist for The Washington Post, and former general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab News Channel entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, and was never, ever again seen. He was assassinated by agents of the Saudi Arabian Government. Despite having arrested some of its own security personnel for this crime, the Saudi Government continues to refuse to disclose the location of Khashoggi's remains.

In June, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions concluded that Khashoggi was ``the victim of a deliberate, premeditated execution, an extrajudicial killing for which the State of Saudi Arabia is responsible.''

She called the trial in Saudi Arabia of the 11 suspects to be suspended, saying it would ``not deliver credible accountability.''

``The trial is held behind closed doors. The identity of those charged has not been released nor is the identity of those facing the death penalty. At the time of writing, at least one of those identified as responsible for the planning and organizing of the execution of Mr. Khashoggi has not been charged,'' she noted.

She also found there was ``credible evidence that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and other high-level officials were individually liable.''

Not surprisingly, the Saudi Government, which denies the Prince was involved, has rejected the report. Meanwhile, despite all the international handwringing and denunciations, there has been little effective international response.

This bill requires an intelligent assessment on responsibility for Jamal Khashoggi's murder, and it would sanction those named by imposing Magnitsky-style sanctions against them.

It also requires the Secretary of State to provide Congress with a report on Saudi Arabia's human rights record, which, personally, I find to be among the most egregious in the world.

Mr. Speaker, the U.S., Canada, France, and the U.K. all levied some level of sanctions against 18 Saudis allegedly linked to the killing. The Saudi Crown Prince is not among them. Germany, Finland, and Denmark have canceled arms deals with Saudi Arabia. The U.K. was also forced to cancel its armed sales to the Saudi Government, under court order.

The Senate and the House have voted to condemn Jamal Khashoggi's murder and to end U.S. armed sales to Saudi Arabia because of Saudi Arabia's role in the Yemen civil war.

President Trump has chosen to ignore the will of Congress, going so far as to invoke an imaginary emergency in order to continue selling arms to the Saudis. The Senate has voted to overturn those arms sales by passing resolutions of disapproval, which the House will consider later this week or next. I have introduced a bill in the House, H.R. 643, that would end U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Now is the time for the House to act strongly and definitely. There must be consequences for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Such a heinous crime must not be met with impunity. H.R. 2037 is an appropriate step in ensuring that those responsible are named and held accountable.

Again, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for his leadership and urge all my colleagues to support this legislation.

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