Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the activities of human rights defenders in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

FCDO Ministers, our Ambassador and Embassy officials in Riyadh frequently raise concerns over the continued detention of human rights defenders, at senior levels with the Saudi authorities. In September 2020, the UK signed a UN Human Rights Council statement calling for the release of all political detainees. On 29 November 2020, the UK Ambassador for Human Rights and six European counterparts released a joint statement reiterating our call for the release of all political detainees, including women's rights defenders. On 25 February, the Foreign Secretary raised the continued detention of at least three women's rights defenders with his Saudi counterpart. We will continue to maintain a regular dialogue with the Saudi authorities on a range of human rights issues, including human rights defenders.