From June through August 2018, United Nations (UN) Special Procedures sent five separate joint communications to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, expressing concerns over a myriad of human rights violations ranging from the targeting of women’s and human rights defenders, reprisals, the conflict in Yemen, arbitrary detention and more. This blog series highlights these joint[…]
Saudi Arabia’s recent onslaught of bad press, including the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and ongoing support for the war in Yemen, has stirred international concern for the Gulf state’s stance on human rights. However, despite discussions to address Saudi Arabia’s track record of rights abuses, the Gulf state has managed to maintain business relations[…]
**Updated 30 October 2018 – Reports are saying that Israa al-Ghomgham was not brought to court for her second hearing on 28 October in front of the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC). The hearing has been adjourned until 21 November 2018 and she remains held in the Dammam General Intelligence Prison. On 21 August, the public prosecutor[…]
**Update 23 April 2019 – Today, the Saudi government carried out the executions of 37 men, including Munir Al Adam. His case had drawn the attention of UN bodies, including Special Procedures (SAU 5/2016 and SAU 7/2017), and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) issued a decision on his case finding Saudi Arabia in violation of its[…]
On 24 August 2018, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) released its summary of non-state stakeholder’s submissions on Saudi Arabia’s third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) ahead of the review itself in November 2018. Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) submitted six reports in conjunction with nine partner organizations, the European[…]