Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) held a side event during the 37th Session of the Human Rights Council today.
This event was co-sponsored by CIVICUS, ECHDHR, the European Saudi Organiztion for Human Rights (ESOHR), PEN International, English PEN, Gulf Center for Human Rights, International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), Reporters Without Borders, ALQST, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and Index on Censorship.
Participants spoke about Saudi Arabia’s recent propaganda and campaign to improve their public image in the international community. Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman Al Saud since consolidating power has attempted to create an image of a “new age” of the Kingdom by opening civil society.
However, they noted that a number of these changes, like the Law of Associations and the announcement to lift the ban on women driving merely provide a public image of positive movement towards conformity with international human rights standards.
They also focused on violations of the right to freedom of expression and noted the case of bloggers and writers subjected to torture, arbitrary detention, and other forms of ill treatment by the Saudi government.
