Dear John,
We applaud the recent breakthrough for Saudi Arabian women, who were finally granted the rights to obtain passports and travel (if 21 years of age or over), register births and deaths, and obtain family identification cards without the need for male authorization. No mention was made, however, that the very women who campaigned for these changes were arrested shortly after Saudi announced that women would be allowed to drive and are still languishing in prison.
Despite its war crimes in Yemen and gross violations of human rights, Saudi Arabia continues to operate on the world stage as though it were a normal state. Next year, that will include hosting the G20 forum.
The G20 is composed of 19 countries and the European Union. Together, they represent two-thirds of the world’s population and 80% of world trade. Started in 2008, the G20 meets annually to discuss economic issues and ways to increase cooperation. Each year the location of the forum rotates. Next year it is supposed to be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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Add your name to our petition to all G20 countries and other participating nations and international organizations. <[link removed]>Ask them to show their opposition to Saudi repression by SKIPPING THE 2020 G20 IN SAUDI ARABIA, or at the very least, sending low-level delegations.
Human rights activists in the UK and Canada are already pressuring their governments not to attend the 2020 G20 in Riyadh. UN Special Rapporteur Agnes Callamard warned that "the holding of the G20 in Saudi Arabia next year is a slap in the face of all those who have fought and some of whom have died for accountability and human rights protections."
The location for the 2020 G20 will be King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh. Only a half-hour south, is the area known as “Chop-chop Square,” where public beheadings regularly take place. On just one day of state terrorism, April 23, 2019, 37 men were executed, most of them from the Shia minority. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) wants the world to believe he is a reformer, yet under his rule executions have almost doubled and the war in Yemen shows no end in sight.
World leaders from the UK, Canada, Sweden, the UN, and democratic countries should not be treating Saudi Arabia as a normal county. By the time you finish reading this, another child in Yemen has probably died as a result of the Saudi-led war. Sign our petition to the countries and international organizations that participate in the G20 asking them to skip the 2020 G20 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. <[link removed]>
Towards freedom and justice,
Ann, Ariel, Caroline, Carley, Clara, Jodie, Maya, Mark, Medea, Megan, Nancy, Paki, Ryan, Rose, Sarah, Teri, Tighe, Umama, Ursula, and Zena
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