Two weeks ago at a press conference with Secretary of State John Kerry, Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister, Adel Jubeir, spoke dispassionately about his country’s actions in the conflict in Yemen. “Yes, we do our best to minimize civilian casualties,” Jubeir claimed. “We do our best to investigate when we have reports of these, and we[…]
01
Sep
Sep
In 2006 the United Nations (UN) established a new Human Rights Council (HRC) to be “responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe.” The HRC replaced the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) after it had been heavily criticized for allowing countries with poor human rights records to be members. Now,[…]
18
Aug
Aug
Last week, the U.S. State Department notified Congress of an impending $1.15 billion dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia. This deal is the latest in a string of major arms sales agreements, totaling over $20 billion, since the Gulf country began fighting in Yemen against the Houthi rebels in March 2015. However, steady arms sales to[…]
27
Jul
Jul
On 21 Thursday 2016, Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with United States Defense Secretary Ash Carter in Washington, DC in order to discuss further cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, also known as ISIL, IS, and Daesh). The two officials thanked one another for their[…]
30
Jun
Jun
On 29 June 2016, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called upon the United Nations to immediately suspend the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from the Human Rights Council. In a joint statement, the two organizations asserted that “Saudi Arabia has committed gross and systematic violations of human rights during its time as a Council member,[…]
