On 22 June 2023, ALQST, along with Amnesty International, the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), and Human Rights Watch (HRW), held a United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) side event entitled the “continuous deterioration of human rights in Saudi Arabia”. Speakers highlighted the Saudi authorities' brazen and systemic rights abuses, and called on the international community to increase efforts to combat impunity.
Saudi human rights activist Yahya Assiri, gave an overview of the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia, which he described as going “from bad to worse”. He highlighted several regressive trends, including unprecedentedly long prison sentences for peaceful expression online, and prisoners of conscience being held beyond their sentence expiry or even re-sentenced. Rothna Begum, Senior Women’s Rights Researcher at Human Rights Watch, described the ongoing precarious situation of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, with the male guardianship system remaining far from dismantled. For instance, ‘disobedience’ by a woman towards her male guardian remains a crime, effectively rendering her new freedoms null if her male guardian objects.
Julia Legner, Executive Director of ALQST for Human Rights, spoke about violations committed in the context of Vision 2030’s economic mega projects, including the Neom megacity project. Legner pointed to ALQST's report, "The Dark Side of Neom: Expropriation, expulsion and prosecution of the region’s inhabitants", which outlines the vicious campaign against members of the Huwaitat tribe who objected to their forcible eviction in 2020 for construction of Neom.
Dana Ahmed, Middle East Researcher at Amnesty International, highlighted the increased application of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, which has seen regressive developments. She highlighted the case of Jordanian national Hussein Abu al-Khair, who was executed in March on drug-related offences following an unfair trial, as well as several young men at imminent risk of execution for alleged crimes committed as children.
The event was moderated by Michael Khambatta from GCHR, who reiterated the call for the Council to establish a monitoring and reporting mechanism on the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia.
