[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 216 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 216

      Encouraging women's political participation in Saudi Arabia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 23, 2011

    Mrs. Boxer (for herself and Mr. DeMint) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
      Encouraging women's political participation in Saudi Arabia.

Whereas, on September 22, 2011, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is scheduled to hold 
        its first nationwide municipal elections since 2005, with voter 
        registration open as of April 23, 2011;
Whereas the Government of Saudi Arabia has announced--as it did in 2005--that 
        women will be unable to run for elective office or vote;
Whereas, on March 28, 2011, president of the general committee for the election 
        of municipal council members Abd al-Rahman Dahmash stated, ``We are not 
        prepared for the participation of women in the municipal elections 
        now.'';
Whereas Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Prince Saud Al Faisal stated in an 
        interview after the 2005 election that he assumed women would be allowed 
        to vote in future elections, and that this would benefit the election 
        process because women were ``more sensible voters than men'';
Whereas the decision by the Government of Saudi Arabia to continue to 
        disenfranchise women in the September 2011 municipal elections is 
        inconsistent with a series of commitments made by the Government of 
        Saudi Arabia;
Whereas, in January 2003, Saudi Arabia proposed to the League of Arab States the 
        ``Covenant for Arab Reform,'' resulting in the adoption of the ``Tunis 
        Declaration'' at the May 2004 Arab Summit, which declared, among other 
        things, a ``firm determination'' to ``pursue reform and modernization'' 
        by ``widening women's participation in the political, economic, social, 
        cultural and educational fields'';
Whereas these declarations were reaffirmed at the Arab Summit in Algiers on 
        March 23, 2005, and at the Riyadh Summit held in Saudi Arabia on March 
        28, 2007;
Whereas, in April 2009, Saudi Arabia ratified the Arab Charter on Human Rights, 
        which states in article 24(3), ``Every citizen has the right . . . to 
        stand for election or choose his representatives in free and impartial 
        elections, in conditions of equality among all citizens that guarantee 
        the free expression of his will.'';
Whereas, on June 10, 2009, the Government of Saudi Arabia accepted the majority 
        of the recommendations put forward by the United Nations Human Rights 
        Council's Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review including to 
        ``[a]bolish all legislation, measures and practices that discriminate 
        against women . . . In particular, to abolish legislation and practices 
        which prevent women from participating fully in society on an equal 
        basis with men,'' and to ``end the strict system of male guardianship 
        and give full legal identity to Saudi women'';
Whereas the Government of Saudi Arabia has indicated that it is supportive of 
        the human rights of women;
Whereas, in November 2010, Saudi Arabia was elected to the Executive Board of UN 
        Women, emphasizing the commitment of the Government of Saudi Arabia to 
        the rights of women;
Whereas `Abd al-Rahman Dahmash, the president of the general committee for the 
        election of municipal council members, has stated that Saudi women will 
        be granted the right to vote in the next municipal elections scheduled 
        to be held in 2015; and
Whereas, while the United States Government acknowledges the deep cultural and 
        religious traditions and sentiments within Saudi society, without the 
        right to vote on par with men, women in Saudi Arabia are denied not only 
        a fundamental human right but also the ability to contribute fully to 
        the economic development, modernization, and prosperity of their own 
        country: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) calls on the Government of Saudi Arabia to allow women 
        to participate, both as voters and candidates for elective 
        office, in the September 2011 elections;
            (2) supports the women of Saudi Arabia as they endeavor to 
        exercise their human rights; and
            (3) believes that it is in the interest of Saudi Arabia and 
        all nations to permit women to run for office and vote in all 
        elections.
                                 <all>