Statements and Speeches

Statement to the Government Reform Committee on
US Relations with Saudi Arabia
October 3, 2002

By Henry A. Waxman

Mr. Chairman, these are valuable hearings that you are holding.

They remind us that there are fundamental differences between democratic governments like ours and Saudi Arabia. The United States is a pluralistic democracy where religious freedoms are not only tolerated, they are encouraged. American laws do not differentiate between genders, religions, races, or ethnicities. People in the United States enjoy freedom of speech and the right to travel. These are not just American values, these are basic human rights espoused by many countries around the world.

Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, is a theocracy and there is no public participation in government. Religious freedom is prohibited, and there is no freedom of speech or assembly. Men and women are treated very differently by Saudi law. Women do not have the same educational opportunities as men. They cannot be admitted to a hospital without the permission of their nearest male relative. Women cannot drive, and they cannot associate freely with men in public. Women cannot travel without permission from their fathers or their husbands.

These hearings have focused in particular on an aspect of Saudi Arabia that directly affects American parents: how Americans who divorce their Saudi spouses can essentially be denied the right to be a part of their children's lives.

The Committee has heard compelling testimony from women who have not had contact with their children in years because the Saudi fathers would not grant them permission to come to Saudi Arabia. We have also heard testimony from women who were force to take extreme measures, such as orchestrating a rescue or living under discriminatory conditions in Saudi Arabia, to have any contact with their children. And we have even heard from a man, Michael Rives, who was denied contact with his children after his ex-wife kidnapped their children to Saudi Arabia.

One key question that I hope we will be able to explore today is: to what extent is the Saudi government complicit in keeping these families apart? There appears to be significant evidence of Saudi government involvement. For example, the Committee heard yesterday from two witnesses who, fearing that their husbands would violate American court orders giving them custody of their children, made the Saudi government aware that their children were not to be taken out of the country. Nonetheless, in both of these cases, the Saudi government allowed these men and their children to travel to Saudi Arabia in violation of American law.

I recognize that Michael Petruzzello, who has been subpoenaed to appear here today, is not an official in the Saudi Government. But he has been hired as a public relations specialist by the Saudis to present their case to the American public. I hope he will be able to answer some of these questions.

We have also heard complaints about the role our own government has played in these cases. I am glad that we will have witnesses from the State Department here today, so that we will be able to inquire whether the U.S. government has done everything that it could.

In closing, let me thank the Chairman for holding this hearing and tell the witnesses that I look forward to their testimony.