Advocacy / Saudi Arabia
#FreeLoujain: NGOs coalition and president of France-Saudi Arabia parliamentary friendship group call for the definitive release of women's rights activist Loujain Al Hathloul
French Deputy Jean-Baptiste Moreau (LREM), president of the France-Saudi Arabia parliamentary friendship group joins forces with Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), Women’s March Global, International Service for Human Rights, MENA Rights Group, CODEPINK, to demand the definitive release of Loujain al-Hathloul and her right to return to France.
In the wake of the US National Intelligence report on Khashoggi, 42 organisations issue a joint call calling on President Joe Biden to #SanctionMBS
In response to the release of the long-awaited declassification of the U.S. national intelligence report regarding the involvement of Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman (“MBS”) in the murder of U.S. permanent resident and Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi, 42 organizations said:
45 organisations call on Lewis Hamilton to take a stand against Saudi Arabia's "sportswashing" attempts
Together with 44 organisations, MENA Rights Group sent a joint letter to Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton urging him to speak out against the Saudi authorities' human rights abuses and boycott the Formula 1 race projected to be held in Saudi Arabia later in 2021. The letter specifically recalled the Saudi-led war on Yemen, the Gulf state's treatment of women’s rights defenders, and the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In the light of Hamilton's previous dedication to human rights related issues, we call on him to take action to uphold the most basic rights also in Saudi Arabia and to reject the state's "sportswashing" attempts.
Call for the release of prisoners of conscience in the Gulf in light of the lifting of Qatar blockade
On January 5, 2021, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt, signed a “solidarity and stability” agreement, at the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Al-Ulah, Saudi Arabia, ending the blockade on Qatar.
NGOs ask Dakar Rally participants to #StandWithSaudiHeroes
28 December 2020 Dear Participants, Organizers, Sponsors and Official Broadcasters of the Dakar Rally,
NGOs call for the immediate and unconditional release of all Saudi women's rights defenders
In a joint letter to the president of the Human Rights Commission in Saudi Arabia, Awwad bin Saleh Al Awwad, 28 NGOs called for the immediate and unconditional release of all Saudi women's rights defenders, including dropping all charges against them, and halting all forms of harassment, intimidation and travel bans against their family members.
Ladies European Tour community should #StandWithSaudiHeroes
MENA Rights Group and 18 NGOs are urging organisers, participants and sponsors of the Ladies European Tour, which will hold its first golf tournament in Saudi Arabia in November, to reconsider their participation and denounce human rights violations against women in the Kingdom.
NGOs denounce Saudi Arabia's human rights record at the UN Human Rights Council's 45th session
On September 24th, during the 45th session of the UN Human Rights Council, ALQST, Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), MENA Rights Group, and the Right Livelihood Foundation delivered a statement denouncing Saudi Arabia’s appalling human rights record. In particular, we condemned the arbitrary detention of Right Livelihood Laureates Mohammed al-Qahtani and Waleed Abulkhair and urged Saudi authorities to account for their neglect of Abdullah al-Hamid’s health, which has resulted in his death. Read the full statement below:
MENA Rights Group joins several NGOs calling on mayors to withdraw from Saudi Arabia's Urban 20 mayors summit
Sent to: Berlin Mayor Michael Müller Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner London Mayor Sadiq Khan Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi September 18, 2020 Dear Mayor,