PARIS – Three human rights organizations called on the international community to take a firm stand on Saudi human rights violations after reviewing the country’s human rights record in Geneva.
Paris Francophone Institute for Freedoms (PFIF), Geneva Council for Human Rights and Justice (GCHRJ), and the International Federation for Rights and Development (IFRD) said in a joint statement that the credibility of 193 UN member states is at stake as Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations escalate.
They stressed the importance of UN clear position towards Saudi Arabia’s violations and to carry out its duty to investigate these abuses in order to prevent further flagrant violations of human rights in the country and in Yemen.
The statement highlighted the necessity for decisive international action in the case of killing the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside his consulate in Istanbul more than a month ago without finding his body or holding the perpetrators accountable.
The statement condemned the international lack of accountability for Khashoggi killers, including those tried by the Saudi authorities to hold them responsible, namely Ahmed Asiri and former adviser Saud Al-Qahtani, who was fired without even being arrested so far.
It also criticized the deliberate indifference of Khashoggi’s case and the extrajudicial execution he was exposed to. However, what happened with the prominent journalist represents the brutality of Riyadh’s crackdown on the peaceful opposition.
In light of Saudi Arabia’s failure to address its horrific human rights record and to implement the key recommendations it made during its previous review by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2014, the three human rights organizations demanded a decisive international position to stop the violations of Riyadh.
Human rights organizations stressed that effective international pressure must be put to end the systematic repression of freedom of expression and human rights defenders. It must put an end to the executions, the discrimination against women and the Shiite minority, and the role of the country’s awful violations in Yemen.
It also demanded the countries that supply Saudi Arabia with arms and weapons to suspend their arms sales as they considered as partners in the war against Yemen, given the clear evidence documented by the United Nations and international organizations that they could be used to commit physical abuses against human rights, including possible war crimes in Yemen.
Human Rights Organizations Demands International Position On KSA
