Amnesty International calls for international pressure to stop the Saudi abuses
Amnesty International has warned against dealing with the Kingdom in light of human rights violations and the Saudi regime’s black record of dealing with prisoners of conscience and all dissidents.
The organization said that world leaders must deal with the Kingdom’s gruesome human rights record, where the Kingdom holds the presidency of the World Economic Forum of the Group of 20.
Saudi Arabia is set to take over the G20 presidency on December 1 and next year’s G20 summit will be held in Riyadh.
Amnesty International urged G20 members to press the Saudi authorities to commit themselves to ending patterns of egregious human rights violations.
“The G-20 member states that continue to benefit from the arms trade with the Kingdom, including the USA, the UK and France, should consider their involvement in human rights violations by the Saudi-led coalition in the conflict in Yemen, and halt transfers,” she said. This is until these violations are remedied.”
“G20 leaders should not continue to ignore the Kingdom’s terrible human rights record for lucrative business relations.”
The Kingdom is taking over the G20 presidency amid a new wave of arbitrary arrests of peaceful critics, with many human rights defenders still behind bars and just over a year since the horrific killing of Jamal Khashoggi.
“World leaders in the G20 should put pressure on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to ensure the enjoyment of all human rights, including freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“G20 leaders should not continue to ignore the Kingdom’s gruesome human rights record for lucrative business relations.”
“As Chair of the G20, the Kingdom is responsible for ensuring that the issues it has put on the G20 agenda are addressed in ways that achieve sustainable development goals, including equitable economic growth, addressing climate change, energy, food and water security, and women’s empowerment. . How can a country with such a terrifying human rights record at home ensure that human rights are respected in such an important international process?”
Amnesty International stressed that the Kingdom has a horrific human rights record, as the Saudi authorities systematically carried out arbitrary arrests of peaceful activists, journalists, academics and human rights defenders, as well as executions after unfair trials, routine torture and other ill-treatment in custody.
The country’s leading human rights defenders have been on trial since March 2019 for their peaceful human rights activism and work to promote women’s rights in the country.
Authorities also continue to detain dozens of people without charge for their peaceful expression or support for reforms.
More than a year after Jamal Khashoggi’s extrajudicial execution, there was no accountability. In April 2019 the authorities carried out mass executions of 37 men, most of whom were executed following extremely unfair trials.
At least 15 of those executed had told the court that their “confessions” had been extracted under torture, yet the court had failed to investigate their allegations and had been convicted of execution.
