Saudi Arabia faces censure at U.N Rights forum

European countries have urged Saudi Arabia to release detained activists and to co-operate with the U.N led probe into the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Background

Jamal Khashoggi was one of the Arab world’s most prominent journalists and commentators. He was living in self-imposed exile in the United States for the past year. Mr. Khashoggi was part of the Saudi elite, close to members of the royal family, and former adviser to a Saudi intelligence chief who became ambassador to Britain and America. Khashoggi was a critic of the crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman, or MBS. MBS has been known for reforms he has pushed to make Saudi Arabia appear more “stable and progressive” to draw investors into the Saudi tech industry. He has plans to reorient the Saudi economy away from oil and towards technology, but also has a reputation for silencing critics and dissidents.

Khashoggi authored a regular column for the Washington Post, used his influence to criticise growing repression in Saudi Arabia and end the war in Yemen. On 2 October, he disappeared in the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul.

Saudi Arabia has confirmed the death of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, claiming he died in a fight involving more than a dozen Saudi officials at the country's consulate in Istanbul. The report appeared 18 days after the disappearance of the journalist.

Analysis

Saudi Arabia faced its first rebuke at the U.N’s Human Rights Council. The members of the council have asked the country to release the detained activists and to also cooperate with Jamal Khashoggi’s death probe.

The statement, released on March 6, 2019, comes amid growing opprobrium about the fate of detainees, identified as women’s rights activists after the public prosecutor was reported to be preparing their trials.

The initiative led by Iceland gained the support of the other European countries and delegations from other regions. Iceland was elected last year to take a seat on the council for the first time, replacing the United States.

“We believe that members of the Council have a particular responsibility to lead by example and put on the Council’s agenda human rights issues that warrant our collective attention,” an Icelandic diplomat stated on Tuesday, March 5, adding that rights in Saudi Arabia was one such instance and this view was shared by numerous countries.

Human Rights Watch said council members should demand that Saudi Arabia stop targeting activists, journalists and critics and release wrongfully detained people. “No State is above the law,” said John Fisher, the group’s Geneva director.

Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, also told the Geneva forum that the kingdom was working to ensure fair trials and improve detention conditions, as well as to empower women.

Although the minister has stated that the kingdom would cooperate with the U.N’s mechanisms, he did not explicitly refer to the Khashoggi inquiry led by Agnes Callamard, U.N. investigator on extrajudicial executions.

The crown prince of Saudi, MBS has been making efforts in reforming the country’s policies. He has been trying to introduce Saudi Arabia as a nation ready to welcome the international community and Western influence. The purpose of his Future Investment Initiative (FII) is to shift the focus of Saudi Arabia towards technology. The country has been criticized for its anti-terrorism policy which wrongfully convicts activists and journalists critical of the crown prince. 

Assessment

Our assessment is that the severe criticism received by Saudi at the Human Rights Council could fast track reforms in the governance of the country. However, it is unlikely that the government will fully cooperate with the probe on Jamal Khashoggi’s death.

Image Courtesy: Mazen AlDarrab, Mohammed Bin Salman al-Saud2, CC BY-SA 3.0