HRW: UN forum in Saudi slap in the face for persecuted activists

The International rights groups Human Rights Watch (HRW) says a UN-sponsored forum recently held in the Saudi capital Riyadh amounted to a “slap in the face” for persecuted Saudi activists jailed across the kingdom.

The International rights groups Human Rights Watch (HRW) says a UN-sponsored forum recently held in the Saudi capital Riyadh amounted to a “slap in the face” for persecuted Saudi activists jailed across the kingdom.

Adam Coogle, a Middle East researcher for HRW, was commenting on a two-day NGO Forum staged by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Riyadh last week. 

“To host a prestigious NGO event in Saudi Arabia is a slap in the face to the more than a dozen Saudis languishing in prison merely for trying to set up independent organizations, and an unearned reward to the government officials who put them there,” said Coogle of the New York-based watchdog on Monday.

UNESCO held its 7th International Forum of NGOs  in Riyadh – where the government does not allow independent nongovernmental organizations or activists to function and puts advocates of human rights in jail. The event was co-organized with the MiSK Foundation founded by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The event marked the first time the forum had been held in the Arab region. Irina Bokova, the director general of UNESCO, said in a video address opening the event that the forum aimed to empower youth from the Arab world and beyond.