H.R. 1848 — Houthi Human Rights Accountability Act

This section expresses the sense of Congress that (1) Houthi efforts to indoctrinate Yemenis into a violent, anti-Semitic, and extremist worldview threaten a Yemeni-led peace process and regional stability; and (2) providing support to the Houthis in Yemen, including for such indoctrination efforts, is counter to U.S. policy.

This section directs the Secretary of State, in consultation with the USAID Administrator, to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than 180 days after enactment, a report on (1) Houthi efforts to indoctrinate Yemenis into a violent, anti-Semitic, or extremist worldview; and (2) the long-term threat this indoctrination campaign poses to regional stability.

This section directs the Secretary of State, in consultation with the USAID Administrator, to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than 180 days after the date of enactment, a report on obstacles to humanitarian aid provision by international organizations and nongovernmental organizations in areas of Yemen under de facto Houthi control. The report must cover the period from January 1, 2020, through 90 days after enactment and address: (1) challenges from Houthi rules, regulations, and bureaucracy on access and freedom of movement, including their impact on aid distribution consistent with humanitarian principles; (2) Houthi interference in aid delivery, such as manipulation of beneficiary lists for political or military purposes and its implications for civilians; (3) Houthi violence and intimidation against humanitarian workers and diplomats, including current and former U.S. embassy locally employed staff; and (4) U.S. and partner steps to ensure unhindered aid delivery consistent with humanitarian principles, including responses to Houthi diversion or interference.

This section directs the Secretary of State to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than 180 days after enactment, a report on human rights abuses committed by the Houthis—including gender-based discrimination and violence such as (1) mahram regulations, (2) recruitment and use of child soldiers, (3) enforced disappearance, (4) prolonged and arbitrary detention, (5) conduct that amounts to torture, and (6) unlawful killing—covering the period from March 1, 2015, through 90 days after enactment.

This section directs the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than 180 days after enactment and annually thereafter, a determination on whether foreign persons described in subsection (b) meet the criteria for sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (i.e., authority to block property of and prohibit U.S. transactions with foreign persons responsible for gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, as defined in section 502B(d)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(d)(1)), or significant corruption). Subsection (b) describes such persons as Houthi members who knowingly (1) impose arbitrary or unlawful restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Yemen or (2) engage in the human rights abuses described in section 5(a).

This section directs the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than 180 days after enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, a determination on whether foreign persons who are members of the Houthis meet the criteria for sanctions authorized under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act and Executive Order 14078. Persons meeting the criteria include those responsible for, complicit in, or directing the hostage-taking or wrongful detention of a U.S. national abroad, or knowingly providing financial, material, technological support, goods, or services for such activities.

This section defines terms used in the Act as follows: (1) appropriate congressional committees (i.e., the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and Appropriations, and the Senate Committees on Foreign Relations and Appropriations); (2) foreign person (i.e., a person that is not a United States person); (3) Houthis (i.e., persons officially known as Ansarallah); (4) person (i.e., an individual or entity); and (5) United States person (i.e., a U.S. national, alien lawfully present in the United States, or entity organized under U.S. or state laws, including a foreign branch).