News - World: US Senate moved one step closer to possibly ending US arms sales to Riyadh through legislation that could redefine the entire US-Saudi relationship, the Foreign Policy reported.

The report stated that on March 15, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy and Republican Sen. Mike Lee introduced a privileged resolution that would require the State Department to produce a report on Saudi Arabia’s human rights record as well as its conduct in Yemen. "Once Congress has received the report—which, given the kingdom’s long history of abuses, is likely to show a consistent pattern of human rights violations—Congress could vote to end US security assistance," it added.

According to the report, the preparation of a report—a document that will draw from the State Department’s existing annual human rights reports, which are also mandated by Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act—is relatively uncontroversial. It is the second part of the process that has the potential to transform the US-Saudi security relationship. Once the report has been received, Congress has the option to trigger a vote on ending the sale of US weapons to Riyadh.

Although 502B allows Congress to exercise discretion in how it chooses to respond, the provision is clear about how it defines gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, it added. Saudi Arabia consistently engages in such conduct, and recent years have witnessed a significant increase in repression, corresponding with the crown prince’s effort to transform Saudi Arabia’s economy and society under the auspices of his ambitious Vision 2030.

In 2018, Human Rights Watch documented a massive uptick in the numbers of individuals arbitrarily detained without criminal charges. Mass executions continue, including of individuals charged with crimes they allegedly committed as children. The State Department’s recently released report on human rights in Saudi Arabia for 2022 details a litany of abuses committed by the Saudi state, not only of its own citizens but of the population of Yemen.

 

#Yemen #US #US-Saudi Aggression #Arms Sales #Saudi Arabia About 1 year