Senate Measure Holds Saudi Crown Prince Accountable

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) joined Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), as well as Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Chris Coons (D-Del.) today to introduce a Senate Resolution that holds Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman accountable for contributing to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, the blockade of Qatar, the jailing of political dissidents within Saudi Arabia, the use of force to intimidate rivals, and the abhorrent and unjustified killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“The failure over the last year and half to utilize all available U.S. leverage with respect to Saudi Arabia’s actions in Yemen has left the Crown Prince with the mistaken impression that the United States will turn a blind eye to his increasingly brazen atrocities. Those who suggest we must sacrifice our principles for security will have neither,” said Senator Young.    

“I believe it’s vitally important to U.S. national security interests to make a definitive statement about the brutal murder of an American resident – Mr. Khashoggi – who has three American citizen children,” said Senator Graham. “This resolution – without equivocation – definitively states that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia was complicit in the murder of Mr. Khashoggi and has been a wrecking ball to the region jeopardizing our national security interests on multiple fronts. It will be up to Saudi Arabia as to how to deal with this matter. But it is up to the United States to firmly stand for who we are and what we believe.”

The Graham-Feinstein-Rubio-Markey-Young-Coons Resolution: 

• Condemns in the strongest possible terms the murder of Jamal Khashoggi;
• Finds that as Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman was in control of the security forces at the time of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder;
• Based on evidence and analysis made available to this institution, the Senate has a high level of confidence that Mohammed bin Salman was complicit in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi;
• Urges the United States Government and the international community to hold all parties, including Mohammed bin Salman, involved in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi accountable;
• Calls on the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to negotiate directly with representatives of the Houthi movement in order to end the war in Yemen, agree on a political resolution, reverse the humanitarian crisis, and refocus efforts on defeating al Qaeda and ISIS in Yemen;
• Calls on the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to negotiate a political solution to its dispute with Qatar expeditiously and in a way that restores diplomatic relations with Qatar; and
• Urges the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to immediately release Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, the Saudi women’s rights activists, and other detained political prisoners.

In a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing this week, Senator Young discussed Yemen with the nominee to serve as Ambassador to the Republic of Yemen. 

View the full text of the resolution here.

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