Amnesty International urges President Obama to raise human rights this week in Saudi Arabia.
Amnesty International is calling on President Obama to make human rights a core part of his agenda this week in Saudi Arabia.
President Obama is meeting this week with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, along with the heads of state from the Gulf Cooperation Council: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, UAE, and Qatar.
Read our letter and press release.
“… in the most extreme examples, foreign migrant workers have become suicidal after being trapped without pay by employers in Qatar. They have been forced to depend on charity from others simply to eat. Meanwhile, their family members in poor communities in their countries of origin can face eviction and other serious challenges…”
US Senate Testimony on Qatar Labor Exploitation by Sunjeev Bery
U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security
“Examining the Governance and Integrity of International Soccer”
July 15, 2015
Verbal Remarks (PDF) / Written Testimony (PDF) / Hearing Page / CSPAN Video
Media: New York Times (1, 2), Guardian, USA Today, Reuters, Bloomberg, Vice News, McClatchy DC, Roll Call
Full Text of Verbal Remarks:
“Chairman Moran, Ranking Member Blumenthal, distinguished members of the Subcommittee, and distinguished guests: On behalf of Amnesty International, thank you for the opportunity to address the issue of human rights in Qatar and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup has brought into global focus the shocking conditions that are routine for migrant workers in Qatar.
Under Qatar’s Kafala employment sponsorship system, foreign migrant workers cannot change employers or leave Qatar without the permission of their current employer. Even if an employer is not paying the employee, the employer can still block the employee from changing jobs or leaving the country.
In 2012, the Qatar National Research Fund funded a survey of some 1,000 low-income labor migrants: Continue reading “Qatar, FIFA, and Labor Exploitation – My Senate Testimony”
Today I spoke with Meghna Chakrabarti of NPR and WBUR’s “Here and Now” on why European proposals to destroy boats won’t help refugees and migrants who are escaping #Libya:
Listen: http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2015/05/11/military-crackdown-migrant-traffickers
Thousands are fleeing economic hardship, repression, and violence via boats from North Africa in a desperate attempt to reach Europe’s shores.
Today I joined a panel on Huffington Post Live to talk about Pope Francis’ recent call for action on refugees, migrants, and asylum-seekers attempting to enter Europe.
U.S. Rep Hank Johnson and four other Members of Congress have written a letter to President Obama urging him to push Saudi Arabian officials to be “more constructive” regarding political reform in Bahrain. The core sentence in the letter is the following:
Long-term stability in Bahrain can only be achieved through meaningful political reform, and we urge you to encourage the Saudi government to play a more constructive role in this regard.
Being “more constructive?” That’s definitely an understatement.
As my colleagues wrote in our April 2012 report, “Flawed Reforms Bahrain Fails To Achieve Justice For Protesters” (PDF):
On 15 March 2011, Saudi Arabia sent at least 1,200 troops to Bahrain across the causeway linking the two states, reportedly at the request of the Bahraini government. The same day,the King of Bahrain declared a three-month state of emergency, known as the State of National Safety, and gave the security forces sweeping powers to arrest and detain protesters and ban all protests.
Over 50 Members of Congress have signed a letter to President Obama urging him to end business as usual with Saudi Arabia’s repressive government and stand up for human rights. For too long, the U.S. has prioritized politics and oil over basic freedom in its alliance with Saudi Arabia’s monarchy. The effort has been led by U.S. Representatives Trent Franks, Jim McGovern, Frank Wolf, and Jackie Speier.
The Franks-McGovern-Wolf-Speier congressional letter urges President Obama to:
Diverse and noteworthy organizations are backing the effort — christian religious freedom organizations, US women’s rights groups, human rights advocates, and more:
This Friday, President Obama will travel to Saudi Arabia, a country whose government is highly repressive. But instead of raising human rights, Obama’s trip has been described by The New York Times as focused on “fence-mending.”
This is the wrong approach.
As we say in our Amnesty International letter to President Obama:
For too long, the U.S. has put geopolitics and access to energy over support for human rights in its relationship with Saudi Arabia. As an ally of the United States, Saudi Arabia has been spared the blunt criticisms that U.S. officials make of other governments that commit serious human rights violations.
Want to read the full letter? Scroll down, or download the PDF.
Continue reading “Read the Letter: What We Want President Obama to Do in Saudi Arabia this Friday”
The Huffington Post
Posted: September 11, 2009
By Sanjeev Bery
Following growing public criticism, the Financial Times magazine fDi has withdrawn its recent “Asian Personality of the Year” award to Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat.
Continue reading “Financial Times Withdraws Award To Narendra Modi, Gujarat’s Chief Minister”
Sunjeev Bery 
