Human rights conditions in Saudi Arabia have deteriorated over the last year. Most Saudi Arabian human rights activists have either been imprisoned, fled the country or have ceased their activities. The mass execution of forty-seven death penalties on a single day shocked the world. Among the executed was the Shiite spiritual leader Nimr al-Nimr. Additionally, Saudi Arabia violates international humanitarian law frequently through its bombardments in Yemen.
Against this background, Carolien Roelants shall elaborate upon the geopolitical and socioeconomic situation of Saudi Arabia during the Human Rights Café. She has been reporter on the Middle East for NRC Handelsblad and is co-author of the book “Saoedi-Arabië: De revolutie die nog moet komen”.
Thereafter, the audience can discuss with Floor Beuming (Senior Officer Human Rights Programmes on Saudi Arabia at Amnesty International), Ali Adubisi (Saudi Arabian human rights activist at ESOHR) and Michiel Servaes (Member of Parliament for the Dutch Labour Party) how the Netherlands and the EU should improve human rights in Saudi Arabia.
How do human rights relate to geopolitical and trade interests? How effective are current human right policies on Saudi Arabia? And how do we prevent that human rights are depicted as a Western concept that would be in conflict with Islam?