WATCH ABOVE: The Canadian government sells the Saudi’s billions of dollars worth of military equipment. But, some critics are asking whether it’s a relationship we should continue. Jacques Bourbeau reports.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper hailed the late leader of one of the only countries in the world with state-sanctioned beheadings as “a strong proponent of peace in the Middle East” as he expressed condolences, on behalf of himself and his wife Laureen, following the death of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah.
Abdullah, who died early Friday at 90 years old, was an ally of Canada and the U.S. in taking on terror groups such as ISIS and al Qaeda. He was a proponent of establishing peace with Israel. His royal decree in 2011 paved the way for women to vote and run for office, for the first time, in this year’s municipal elections. (Saudi women are still prohibited from driving cars, however.)
READ MORE: New Saudi King promises to continue predecessors’ policies
But as world leaders express their sympathies, critics argue they’re glossing over ongoing human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia.
“Human rights have to be defended everywhere. You cannot just pick and choose where you defend human rights,” NDP Deputy Foreign Affairs Critic Hélène Laverdière, told Global News.
Here’s how Saudi Arabia ranks when it comes to human rights and other concerns:
- Saudi Arabia carried out the third-highest recorded number of executions in 2013, putting at least 79 people to death, according to Amnesty International.
- Reporters Without Borders ranks Saudi Arabia 164 out of 180 for press freedom in 2014.
- The United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office lists Saudi Arabia as one of “28 countries where the UK government has wide-ranging human rights concerns.”
Some of the prominent cases of abuses that have caught international attention during Abdullah’s reign:
- The sentencing of blogger Raif Badawi to 10 years in prison, a $315,000 fine and 1,000 lashes (although the weekly public flogging has been postponed twice now).
- The detention of activist Loujain al-Hathloul, arrested for defying Saudi Arabia’s ban on women driving cars.
- The purported public beheading of a woman and the reported arrest of a policeman who captured it on video and posted the footage online.
Middle East Eye, an “independently-funded” website reporting on Middle East affairs, released a graphic this week comparing punishments in Saudi Arabia to those carried out by ISIS in its self-declared caliphate.
Harper isn’t the only one who praised the late King Abdullah.
Human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch see his time as ruler much differently.
“King Abdullah came to power promising reforms, but his agenda fell far short of achieving lasting institutional gains on basic rights for Saudi citizens,” deputy Middle East director Joe Stork said in a statement. “King Salman, the new ruler, should move the country forward by ending intolerance for free expression, rooting out gender and sectarian discrimination, and fostering a fair and impartial judicial system.”
READ MORE: Politicians call on Ottawa to help secure release of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi
When asked about Canada’s response to human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, a Foreign Affairs spokesperson said “promotion and protection of human rights is an integral part of Canadian principled foreign policy.
“Canada consistently protects and promotes freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law around the world, including in the volatile Middle East,” Adam Hodge, press secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, told Global News in an email.
But not everyone agrees Canada does so consistently.
“The human rights situation in Saudi Arabia is dire across an entire range of human rights measures,” Amnesty International Canada’s Alex Neve told Global News on Friday. “It ranks right up there with other countries that regularly do attract international scorn and attention. Iran would be a good example.”
Baird has made denouncing Iran — which has the highest known number of executions in the world — a personal mission. He has blasted the Iranian government for sponsoring terror groups; detaining journalists, artists, and human rights lawyers; limiting Internet freedom and threatening Israel.
READ MORE: Baird declines invite for special Syria meeting at Davos that includes Iran
Baird and Ambassador for Religious Freedom Andrew Bennett both expressed their “concern” over the public flogging of blogger Raif Badawi. Baird called the punishment “a violation of human dignity and freedom of expression. ” He has also called Canada’s relationship with Saudi Arabia “active” and “candid,” adding the federal government would “maintain an ongoing, respectful dialogue.”
Strategic interests and diplomatic relations play a role in how governments deal with human rights violations, said Janice Stein, director of the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. The school partnered with the Canadian government on a project called the Global Dialogue on the Future of Iran.
She said using condemnatory “bullhorn diplomacy,” to borrow a term Baird has used, can do more damage than good, potentially closing the door on behind the scenes negotiations.
“If however there are not doors in, there’s no way to have a conversation and you don’t stand any chance through private channels, then bullhorn diplomacy is your only strategy,” Stein said in a phone interview. “And we’ve seen it work in the past. ”
With files from Jacques Bourbeau and Bryan Mullan
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