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March KSA In Focus

KSA Mission Newsletter March 2017

The month’s issue provides an update on Saudi’s contribution to a new fund to protect cultural heritage from destruction by extremist groups, the situation in Yemen and Saudi Arabia’s appeal for peace in the country, the potential for greater cooperation between the EU and the Kingdom on counter-terrorism and HRH Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s promising visit to President Donald Trump in Washington.

La newsletter est également disponible en français: Focus Arabie Saoudite Mars 2017

“We remain firmly united in our outrage at Daesh’s atrocities and in our determination to eliminate this global threat and overcome its false, destructive narrative. We reiterate our commitment to an integrated, multidimensional, and comprehensive approach to defeat Daesh and its global networks, fully recognizing this will require sustained, focused efforts.”

Ministers of the Global Coalition against Da’esh, 22 March 2017

Europe has once more been struck by the scourge of terrorism. We mourn several innocent lives needlessly taken in London, and wish a full recovery to those injured. This mindless barbarism bears no resemblance to the Islam that we follow and preach, and is an affront to the peaceful religion that Da’esh and other such groups claim to represent.

It is apt now, not to submit to the terror Da’esh wishes to propagate, but rather to stand united in the face of this threat. The international community must continue to cooperate to eliminate the untiring menace of violent extremism. The simple fact is that we are more effective when we work together to counter the multiple threats we face.

Indeed, only yesterday, Foreign Ministers from the 68 countries of the Global Coalition against Da’esh met in Washington and recommitted to intensifying and accelerating their efforts to eliminate these terrorists. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is at the core of this coalition, which reflects the international community’s will to put an end to the senseless destruction and extremism Da’esh stands for.

Abdulrahman S. Alahmed
Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Head of the Saudi Mission to the European Union

 

The full Statement by Ministers of the Global Coalition can be read here.

With no end to the humanitarian threat posed by the Houthi rebel militia, the Yemeni Ministry of Human Rights has published a Preliminary Report on the Human Rights Situation in Yemen. The comprehensive report, composed by the Ministry’s Leadership Council, details the extent of human suffering in Yemen in two years between January 2015 and January 2017, covering the Houthis’ countless breaches of international humanitarian law, be it the targeting of civilians, the recruitment, maiming and killing of children, the denial of education and healthcare or the oppression of basic freedoms.

Yemen’s legitimate President Marshal Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, in his foreword to the report, condemns the Houthi and Saleh-supporting militia that have “taken Yemen into a meaningless war, and destroyed its social fabric, economic and financial resources and infrastructure.” President Hadi recounts the turmoil of the militia’s systematic killing of civilians, children and the elderly; kidnappings; disappearances; sieges and suppression of civic freedoms, equating these deplorable terrorising acts with those of Al Qaeda or Da’esh.

Welcoming the intervention of the Arab Coalition in Yemen, the report reiterates President Hadi’s complete support for the military procedures that the Coalition has taken to defend the legitimacy, unity and territorial integrity of the Yemeni state. However, where there have been mistakes in targetting, the report recommends that the facts are investigated and those responsible are held to account.

Mohammed Askar, Yemen’s Vice Minister of Human Rights alo renews his government’s appeal to all international organisations and human rights mechanisms to look carefully at the Yemeni crisis in order to achieve sustainable peace in all parts of Yemen by ending the coup d’état in adherence with  international resolutions, notably UN Resolution 2216.

The appeals reflect those made by H.E. Mohamed Taha Mustafa, the Yemeni ambassador to Belgium and the European Union, who was welcomed to the European Parliament’s Delegations for relations with the Arab Peninsula earlier this month. In his speech, he underlined the disruptive role of the Houthis rebels supported by Iran and their continuous boycott of all attempts to secure the peaceful transition promoted by the legitimate elected government and the Saudi-led coalition. The Ambassador appealed to the European Parliament and EU governments to put pressure on Iran to cease interfering with internal Yemeni affairs and stop supporting the Houthi rebels.

The latest Special Edition of Saudi Arabia in Focus on Yemen covers recent Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian action in country, the Kingdom’s approach to addressing the crisis and the progress being made in combating the threat of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

 

Abdulrahman S. Alahmed

Ambassador and Head of the Saudi Mission to the EU

Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir has welcomed Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, Yemen’s president and Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, UN special envoy for Yemen, in Riyadh to discuss key elements of an agreement for a peace roadmap to ensure an orderly political transition to peace in the war-torn country. Mr Ahmed shared with the foreign minister the efforts underway to advance the political process in accordance with the GCC-sponsored initiative and the UN Security Council Resolution 2216.

Speaking in an interview with Arab news, Mohamed A. Qubaty, Yemen’s Minister for Tourism, confirmed that “All issues under the peace roadmap should be dealt with in accordance with these references — GCC peace initiative with its executive mechanism, the National Dialogue outputs and the UN Security Council’s resolutions, including Resolution 2216 and Chapter VII of the UN Charter.” He added that “With the fulfillment of the requirements of these three strategic references, we are ready to accept the roadmap.

In 2015, the UN Security Council demanded that all parties in the embattled country, particularly the Houthis, unconditionally end the violence and refrain from further unilateral actions that threaten the political transition. The Security Council also demanded that the Houthis withdraw from all areas seized during the conflict, relinquish arms seized from military and security institutions and cease all actions falling within the authority of the legitimate government.

Furthermore, under Chapter VII of the charter, the UN body called upon the Houthis to refrain from any provocations or threats to neighbouring states, release all political prisoners and individuals under house arrest or arbitrarily detained, and end the recruitment of children as soldiers.

  • March 13, 2017

Today marks International Women’s Day, an occasion on which to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women across the globe. Over recent decades, the world has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women’s and society’s thoughts about women’s equality. And this counts for Saudi Arabia as it does for the EU’s member states.

Despite having a different system of values, traditions and governance, Saudi Arabia too is changing, and is putting women at the forefront of its transition into the future. Indeed, the role of women is anchored in Vision 2030, the Saudi government’s ambitious economic reform plan, that will boost women’s participation in the workforce from 22 to 30 percent by the end of the next decade.

Already, over the last ten years, women’s employment in Saudi Arabia has increased by 48 percent women, and women outnumber men in Saudi universities. Only last month, Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange – the Tadawul – took the historic step of appointing Sarah Al Suhaimi to the position of chairperson, the first woman to ever hold the position. The announcement was followed by the appointment of Rania Mahmoud Nashar to the position of chief executive of Samba Financial Group, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest national banks.

In the political sphere too, women now represent around 20 percent of the Shoura council’s 150 members, a greater proportion than women in the US Congress according to the World Bank. Equally it was announced earlier this year that Arabia Gulf Air is expanding the variety of roles available to Saudi women, who are now in charge of customer service, data input, passenger information verification, boarding passengers and providing services to first-class passengers, families and people with special needs.

The appointment of women to increasingly diverse roles at different levels of society shows Saudi Arabia’s resolve to boost the presence of women among all levels of its workforce as part of the Vision 2030 roadmap for economic success. The future is brighter than ever.

The remarkable contribution of women to Saudi society is showcased in a book by Dr Mona Salahuddin AlMunajjed, Saudi Women: A Celebration of Success. Dr AlMunajjed is an award-winning and prominent sociologist in her own right, and her work celebrates the success of women in acting as the driving force behind the Kingdom’s development through the 21st century. She demonstrates how the empowerment of women can have social and economic benefits, engendering positive changes through increased creativity and innovation.

There is of course still much progress to be made, and Vision 2030 includes a number of other reform strategies that will see the Kingdom to develop women’s talents, invest in their productive capabilities and enable them to strengthen their future and contribute to the development of the Saudi society and economy. We look forward to Saudi women making crucial contributions in the economic transformation launched by Vision 2030 and securing prosperity for the Kingdom’s future.

 

We strongly deny the fabrications Published in a false article on a falsified website “lesoir.info”, masquerading as LeSoir.be. The Saudi Ambassador to Belgium has held no meetings with Mr.Philippe Close of the Belgian Socialist Party. Furthermore, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not support any candidate in the French Presidential election, which it consider to be an internal French affair.

Abdulrahman S. Alahmed 

Saudi Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium

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  • March 2, 2017

The spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human RightsMs. Ravina Shamdasani, spoke this week about the numerous reports received on the recruitment of children in Yemen in the armed conflict, mostly by the Popular Committees affiliated with the Houthi rebels. According to the spokesperson, “between 26 March 2015 and 31 January 2017, the UN has verified the recruitment of 1,476 children, all boys. However the numbers are likely to be much higher as most families are not willing to talk about the recruitment of their children, for fear of reprisals.”

Miss Shamdasani added, “just last week, we received new reports of children who were recruited without the knowledge of their families. Children under the age of 18 often join the fighting after either being misled or attracted by promises of financial rewards or social status. Many are then quickly sent to the front lines of the conflict or tasked with manning checkpoints.”

The UN has urged the party concerned to immediately release such children and reminded that the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict is strictly forbidden by international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and when concerning cases of recruitment of children under fifteen may amount to a war crime.