[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 91 (Thursday, June 23, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4103-S4104]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 216--ENCOURAGING WOMEN'S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN 
                              SAUDI ARABIA

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

                              S. Res. 216

       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;

[[Page S4104]]

       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.

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