Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia.

The British Government’s position on human rights is a matter of public record. Saudi Arabia remains a Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) country of concern because of the human rights situation in the country, particularly the use of the death penalty, access to justice, women’s rights, restrictions on freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion or belief. The UK condemns the use of torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. We regularly make our views known including through the UN Universal Periodic Review process and the FCO’s annual Human Rights and Democracy Report. We maintain a regular dialogue with the Saudi Arabian authorities on a range of human rights issues.