On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken talked with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, repeating a plea for human rights progress.
Blinken and the Saudi minister discussed regional security, the attack last month on the tanker Mercer Street in the Arabian Sea, which Washington blames on Iran, and other regional matters, according to a State Department statement.
They also addressed enhancing security cooperation, Saudi backing for a complete ceasefire in Yemen, and the urgent need to address Yemen’s humanitarian catastrophe, according to the statement.
“Secretary Blinken emphasized the importance of progress on human rights,” the statement stated, mirroring a US statement issued in July following meetings between Saudi Arabia’s deputy defense minister and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Washington.
In a February phone discussion with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, President Joe Biden highlighted universal human rights and the rule of law, signalling a shift in Washington’s stance toward the Middle Eastern ally.
The Democratic Party’s progressive side has attempted to modify US policy toward nations like Saudi Arabia by focusing on human rights violations, and the tone at the White House could reflect the party’s left flank’s rising influence in foreign policy.
The State Department statement, on the other hand, made no mention of the assassination of Washington Post columnist and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, which occurred under Trump’s presidency.
As a notable Saudi journalist, he covered key issues for several Saudi news organizations, including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the rise of the late al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. The 59-year-old was close to the Saudi royal family for decades and also acted as a government consultant.
In his debut piece for the Post, Khashoggi stated he was afraid of being imprisoned as part of MBS’s alleged crackdown on dissent.
By allowing the release of an unclassified US intelligence report in February, Biden rattled the relationship with Saudi Arabia, a close US ally, and revealed that Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, sanctioned the operation in which Khashoggi was killed.
Biden also terminated US backing for the Saudi-led coalition’s offensive operations in Yemen. However, he has rebuffed requests for penalties against MBS from parliamentarians and human rights organizations.
Washington Center For Human Rights calls on Blinken to pressure the Saudi authorities to stop violating human rights laws. In 2018, Saudi Arabia jailed at least a dozen notable women’s rights campaigners as the country overturned a prohibition on women driving vehicles, a move that many of the prisoners had long advocated for. The women were arrested as part of a bigger anti-dissent campaign that included priests and intellectuals.
Saudi Arabia should free conscience prisoners, women, and human rights campaigners who are currently imprisoned for demanding the freedom to drive.