Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their priorities at the G20 leaders’ summit to be hosted by Saudi Arabia in November; and what plans they have to use the occasion to reiterate to Saudi Arabia the statement before the UN Human Rights Council on 15 September, which called for "full accountability and transparent prosecution of those involved in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi".

The G20 Leaders' Summit is an opportunity to address issues of global importance, and is particularly important in the context of COVID-19. The UK sees agreements on health, the economy, and climate as the priority. We want agreements to cover vaccine access, funding and debt financing for developing and middle income countries, and commitments on the Paris Agreement. These should be supported by continued commitments on free trade as the basis for a strong and sustainable recovery. Our close relationship with Saudi Arabia allows us to raise our concerns about human right in private and in public. The UN Human Rights Council statement on 15 September is an example of this, and ministerial colleagues and I regularly raise human rights with the Saudi authorities. The UK has always been clear that Khashoggi's murder was a terrible crime, and that Saudi Arabia must ensure such an atrocity can never happen again. The Foreign Secretary raised the issue during his visit to Riyadh in March this year. The UK has sanctioned twenty Saudi nationals involved in the murder under global human rights regime.