Saudi Arabia must protect financial rights of migrant workers
On 14 March, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, long known for the oppressive treatment of foreign workers, enacted a law awarding more rights to foreign workers. However, more than half...
Need for human rights due diligence to curb sportswashing
The recent attempted takeover of an English Premier League (EPL) club backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund elicited allegations of sportswashing of Saudi Arabia’s dismal human rights record. Such...
In Unregulated Spaces: Empowering Female Migrant Workers from India
On 4 May 2018, Sheeja Das, an Indian migrant worker, was forced to jump off her employer’s residence in Muscat, Oman, to save herself from on-going violence. Sheeja broke her...
The UK and Saudi Arabia: Human Rights and the Perils of Petrodollar Morality – Part II
In Part I, we looked at how the UK’s “special relationship” with Saudi Arabia underpins its half-hearted approach to the kingdom’s dismal human rights record. The cornerstone of this relationship...
The UK and Saudi Arabia: Human Rights and the Perils of Petrodollar Morality – Part I
The Human Rights and Democracy Report (2015) recently released by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office carries a curiously worded statement by Prime Minister David Cameron: “We condemn and do...
Je Suis Margot Wallstrom
Margot Wallstrom, the Swedish foreign minister, ignited a diplomatic war when she publicly criticized the Saudi Arabian regime. Wallstrom, a left-wing politician who had campaigned on the promise of implementing...