Resolution on Saudi Arabia
Date: 1996-01-18
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, arms trade, censorship, human rights, removal













EUR-Lex - 51996IP0078 - EN






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51996IP0078

Resolution on Saudi Arabia  


Official Journal C 032 , 05/02/1996 P. 0098 





B4-0078 and 0088/96Resolution on Saudi ArabiaThe European Parliament,A. deeply disturbed at the serious, widespread and increasing violation of basic human rights in Saudi Arabia, including the detention and ill- treatment of political prisoners, and at the growing number of public executions and the range of crimes which carry the death penalty, as reported by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch,B. worried by the reported increases of judicially ordered floggings and amputations,C. seriously concerned at the total absence of fundamental freedoms and democratic rights in Saudi Arabia and the limitations on the rights of women and foreign workers,D. aware of the situation of complete media censorship,E. believing in the right of Saudi citizens living abroad to advocate reforms peacefully, though by no means endorsing the particular viewpoint upheld by Mohammed A.S. al-Mas'ari,F. recognizing the dangers to which exiles may be subject if denied political asylum,G. deeply aware of the importance of Saudi Arabia as a source of oil and a trading partner for European Union Member States and others anxious to encourage good relations with the Saudi people, but rejecting the idea that concern with human rights should be disregarded or suppressed to safeguard economic interests,The European Parliament,1. Deplores proposals to deport the Saudi dissident Mohammed A.S. al-Mas'ari from the United Kingdom or to isolate him in a distant land, particularly in view of the fact that he was imprisoned and tortured for forming the Committee for the Defence of Legitimate Rights before his escape from his native land; calls upon the UK not to deport him;2. Calls for the right of asylum for genuine political dissidents to be fully upheld within the European Union as a whole;3. Calls upon the Saudi Arabian Government to take measures urgently towards the general improvement of the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia;4. Urges the Council and the Commission to stress this issue in their political contacts with the Saudi Arabian Government and in the context of the Gulf Cooperation Council;5. Calls upon all Member States to act in unison to prevent some Member States from benefiting in the event of sanctions being imposed on others for upholding human rights;6. Views with deep concern the extent to which some states are dependent on arms exports to countries with poor human rights records and urges diversification and observance of the guidelines proposed in its resolutions of 24 March 1994 on disarmament, arms export controls and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction ((OJ C 114, 25.4.1994, p. 56.)) and 19 January 1995 on the need for European controls on the export or transfer of arms ((OJ C 43, 20.2.1995, p. 89.));7. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States and the Government of Saudi Arabia.