Saudi Arabia is facing an early awkward moment in its presidency of the G20 – the group of 19 of the world’s largest economies along with the European Union. Riyadh took the helm at the group for the first time in December, but three leading civil society organisations now say they will not engage any further with the Saudi authorities.
Today human rights group Amnesty International, anti-corruption body Transparency International, and civil society organisation Civicus have all said they will refuse to take part in the dedicated stream of meetings for civil society organisations that happen as part of the G20 process, known as the Civil 20 or C20.
“As leading civil society organisations present in most countries around the world (but notably not Saudi Arabia), we cannot participate in a process that seeks to give international legitimacy to a state that provides virtually no space for civil society, and where independent civil society voices are not tolerated,” the three groups said in a joint statement issued this morning.
Saudi Arabia has been hoping to use its presidency of the G20 – which will culminate in a summit of leaders in Riyadh in November – as a way to burnish its image on the international stage. The regime has struggled to deal with allegations that Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman was personally involved in the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, Turkey in October 2018. It has also been the subject of wide-ranging and persistent criticism about its conduct in the war in Yemen and its domestic human rights record.
On taking over the group on December 1, the Saudi government said it planned to use its time in the chair to concentrate on “realising opportunities of the 21st century for all,” with some of the main areas of focus including empowering people and safeguarding the planet. Mohammed Bin Salman said at the time his country was “committed to… promoting multilateral consensus.”
However, the three groups say they are unwilling to be part of an attempt by Saudi Arabia to deflect attention from the issues which concern them most. “Instead of real reform, the Saudi government has been trying to whitewash its dire human rights record by holding major international events in the country. This includes the G20,” they said in their statement.
The C20 process under the Saudi presidency is closely tied to the ruling royal family. It is being led by Princess Nouf bint Muhammad of the King Khalid Foundation, with two other members of the foundation, Rahaf Al Sanosi and Osamah Alhenaki, named as co-sherpas. There will be 11 working groups, dealing with topics such as anti-corruption, education and global health. The first meeting of the Saudi C20 was due to be held its Riyadh yesterday.
However, it is questionable how effective the C20 stream will be over the course of this year, given the restrictions on civil society groups in the country. The authorities in Riyadh do not allow political parties, trade unions or independent human rights groups and expressions of discontent with the ruling regime tend to be treated harshly.
Amnesty International, Transparency International and Civicus have complained that the early weeks of the Saudi presidency have given them cause for concern about how the C20 process might function over the rest of the year.
“Even this early in the 2020 C20 process we have observed a marked lack of transparency from the C20 hosts,” they said in their statement. “The appointment of the chairs of working groups and various committees was opaque and non-consultative, while arbitrary decisions have excluded experienced international groups.”
The statement went on to say: “A state that closes civic space until it is virtually non-existent cannot be trusted to guarantee the basic conditions for international civil society to exchange ideas and collaborate freely on any issue, let alone those issues it deems sensitive or offensive.”
Saudi Arabia is not alone among Gulf governments in attracting criticism for its handling of international gatherings. In December 2019, the authorities in the UAE came under fire after they barred noted anti-corruption journalist Stevan Dojčinović from entering the country to attend a United Nations conference on graft.
