As a 450-strong British delegation travels to Riyadh to take part in a government-led UK-Saudi trade expo, ALQST urges business leaders taking part to closely examine their corporate responsibilities to avoid complicity in abuses on the ground, including  those committed in the context of the Neom megacity project, and to use their leverage to press for urgent human rights measures.

The “Great Futures” event, taking place from 14-15 May, sees UK Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden head a delegation representing sectors including banks, cultural institutions and universities, as the UK government seeks to boost trade with its Saudi ally, citing the economic opportunities offered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 and gigaprojects like Neom.

Yet while events like “Great Futures” seek to portray Saudi Arabia as open to the world for business, the Saudi authorities continue to trample on the most basic of human rights. ALQST’s report The Dark Side of Neom showed that in order to proceed with the Neom project, the Saudi authorities committed a wide range of human rights abuses, including illegally displacing local tribes without offering adequate compensation or alternative housing, and violently suppressed members of the Huwaitat tribe who peacefully opposed or resisted eviction. Since the notorious killing of local resident Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti in a raid by special forces on his home in 2020, ALQST has documented the arbitrary arrests and unfair trials of scores of members of the tribe, several of whom have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms and even execution. 

In line with the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, ALQST urges businesses taking part in this week’s trade expo to conduct due diligence scrupulously to avoid becoming complicit in the Saudi authorities’ gross human rights violations, and to use the leverage at their disposal to speak out on rights abuses. 

ALQST’s Deputy Director Joshua Cooper comments: “Companies working on Neom, for instance, should make their involvement conditional on an independent investigation into violations accompanying the project, and the release of those arrested for protesting against forced eviction. Meanwhile, UK universities should put on hold partnerships with Saudi institutions until University of Leeds PhD student Salma al-Shehab is released from prison.” 

ALQST urges the UK government not to turn a blind eye to Saudi Arabia’s egregious human rights abuses. The UK should write clear commitments to the rule of law and human rights into the objectives of any Free Trade Agreement it negotiates with Saudi Arabia and the other GCC states.