Sec. 803. Report on understanding and mitigating civilian harm from use of certain weapons systems in Yemen
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/bill/116/hr/7856/ih/section-803A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
It is the sense of Congress that it is in the national interest of the United States that the United States that all parties to the Yemen conflict comply with the law of armed conflict. It is the policy of the United States that credible evidence of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights by the coalition led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen should be a principal factor in United States decisions to authorize the sale, transfer, or delivery of offensive weapons and equipment to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the heads of relevant intelligence community entities, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report containing— a detailed description of any incident that has occurred since 2015 in which Saudi Arabia or one of its coalition partners has been determined to have used United States weapons against civilians or civilian objects in Yemen; for each such incident, the assessment of the intelligence community as to whether the leadership of Saudi Arabia took credible steps following the incident to alter the conduct of its armed forces; and an assessment of— efforts by the Government of Saudi Arabia since 2015 to avoid disproportionate harm to civilians and civilian objects in Yemen; whether United States assistance to the Saudi-led coalition has led to a demonstrable decrease in civilians killed or injured by Saudi-led airstrikes and damage to civilian infrastructure; the humanitarian and strategic consequences of strikes against civilians in Yemen for the broader Middle East region and United States interests; and the credibility of written assurances officials of Saudi Arabia provided to the United States Government in 2017, including whether Saudi Arabia has taken substantial and meaningful steps to adhere to such assurances.
The report required under this subsection shall be based on all available sources. If the Director determines that the report cannot be submitted by the date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall, before such date— submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report setting forth the reasons why the report cannot be submitted by such date and an estimated date for the submission of the report; and together with the relevant experts from the National Intelligence Council and other relevant elements of the intelligence community, testify before the appropriate congressional committees with respect to the issues to be covered by the report.
The report required under this subsection shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex. Nothing in this section may be construed as authorizing the use of military force or sharing of intelligence with the Government of Saudi Arabia. In this section: The term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives; and the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
The term offensive weapons means precision-guided munitions, other bombs, anti-tank missiles, small-diameter rockets, and large mortars.