'Teetering on the brink' - Urgent action demanded to stop North Sea oil and gas industry 'jobs massacre'

By Martin Williams @MWilliamsHT Senior News Reporter


A UNION has called for urgent government action to stop a North Sea oil and gas industry "jobs massacre".

Offshore union RMT has said the North Sea energy industry was "teetering on the brink" having been hit by a double whammy of plummeting oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic.

As many as 8,000 jobs are thought to have been lost in the industry this year and trade body Oil and Gas UK previously warned that number could rise to 30,000 by the end of 2020.

In October an Offshore survey of 1383 oil and gas workers asserted that nearly half of North Sea oil workers had been either made redundant or been furloughed since lockdown, with four in five saying they are now open to leaving the industry.


READ MORE: Nearly half North Sea oil workers are either redundant or furloughed and 'face barriers' going green

The analysis comes after Royal Dutch Shell said it expected to cut up to 9,000 jobs as it looked to slash spending amid the crude price plunge triggered by the coronavirus crisis.


The oil and gas giant, which is a big player in the North Sea, said the cuts formed part of a simplification programme that it expected would help it save up to £1.9bn annually.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "After the pandemic took hold, RMT demanded that ministers deliver a package of measures to ensure that offshore oil and gas workers aren't dumped by the industry in a rush to protect profits and dividends.

“Yet today we still have had nothing from Government whilst thousands of jobs are lost. Employers continue to estimate 30,000 job losses by October 2021.

“Exploration and production plans exist for 2.5 billion barrels of oil but the required investment has disappeared. If the Government doesn't follow RMT's advice and use decommissioning rate relief to protect jobs, skills, investment and resources, then offshore workers' skills and livelihoods will disappear along with any prospects of a 'Just Transition' to a net zero carbon economy. We cannot let that happen."


During a virtual Scottish Trades Union Congress event Jake Molloy, RMT regional organiser, said operators had “pulled the plug” on projects, leading to the drilling sector being “wiped out”.

He also claimed that the impact of Covid-19 is only responsible for a “fraction” of the job losses that have hit the industry in the last few months.

He said: “Operators are sitting on their money, they’re not prepared to spend. That doesn’t work for the North Sea industry anymore and that’s why there’s this ripple effect on the wider supply chain.

“We’ve seen boom and bust in the industry before and I used to think the downturn in 1986 was the worst ever. This is the worst, there’s no doubt about it.

“But it has been like smoke and mirrors with Covid. The pandemic has been at the front but in actual fact, behind the scenes, the oil companies have pulled the plug – they’re not prepared to spend or invest in anything.

“We’re in a mature, declining basin with a finite resource and we’ve got climate change on our back as well – the North Sea is teetering on the brink here.”

Nearly half North Sea oil workers are either redundant or furloughed and 'face barriers' going green

By Martin Williams @MWilliamsHTSenior News Reporter


NEARLY half of North Sea oil workers have been either made redundant or been furloughed since lockdown, with four in five saying they are now open to leaving the industry, a survey has revealed.

But many are faced with "significant barriers" preventing them from transitioning from their current jobs onto green energy projects, according to a new report.

Environmental groups Friends of the Earth Scotland, Greenpeace and Platform who have produced the findings are urging the UK and Scottish Government to sit down with workers to shape policy together so that their experiences and ideas are used to steer Covid-19 recovery packages and the transition to renewables.

Richard Hardy, Prospect’s Scottish national secretary and member of Scotland’s Just Transition Commission, said: “This is an important report with some worrying findings which highlight just how far we have yet to go to achieve any manner of Just Transition from fossil fuels to renewables.

“There is a wealth of skills in the North Sea oil industry, easily convertible to be applicable to renewable energy – all it needs is the will.

“Here in Scotland we have set up the Just Transition Commission which earlier in the year set out the need for immediate sector-specific plans – this report demonstrates that need further.

READ MORE: Oil & Gas UK say offshore workers should be routinely tested for coronavirus

“If we wait until the last minute on this it will be too late. If we repeat the mistakes of previous generations in it is our economy and local communities that will pay the price."

The analysis comes as Royal Dutch Shell said it expects to cut up to 9,000 jobs as it looks to slash spending amid the crude price plunge triggered by the coronavirus crisis.

The oil and gas giant, which is a big player in the North Sea, said the cuts form part of a simplification programme that it expects will help it save up to £1.9bn annually.

The group employs around 1,000 in its North Sea business and a further 5,500 in other operations in the UK.

It said a programme that is expected to involve from 7,000 to 9,000 job reductions should be completed by the end of 2022.

Shell cut North Sea jobs amid the four-year downturn that started in 2014.

The new Offshore study is the results of a survey of 1,383 oil and gas workers which shows that given the option of retraining to work elsewhere in the energy sector, more than half would be interested in renewables and offshore wind.

Based on the findings of the survey, the authors make recommendations to improve working conditions in the oil and gas sector, address barriers to entry and conditions within the renewables industry and ensure workers are able to help determine policy for the energy transition.

Ryan Morrison, Friends of the Earth Scotland Just Transition campaigner said: “These workers are the backbone of our energy sector but have faced years of job insecurity amid volatile oil markets, lax regulation and now the global pandemic.

“Despite the Scottish Government’s rhetoric, the idea of a just transition has failed to reach the overwhelming majority of the workers who will be most directly impacted. Workers’ voices must be at the centre of that transition process. The government must ensure oil and gas workers are supported into secure and sustainable jobs.”

“These results reveal an urgent need to improve terms and conditions for workers offshore and tackle job insecurity. The solutions provided by the workers could also increase opportunities in renewables and make the process of transition to renewables far easier.”

The Just Transition Commission (JTC) established to make recommendations to ministers on how Scotland can transition to a net-zero economy by 2045 has suggested fast-tracked North Sea decommissioning projects should be used as a “skills bridge” to get hundreds of oil workers over the current job-cuts crisis and into green energy role It has said that bringing forward deferred oil-well plugging and abandonment (P&A) work would immediately create jobs.

Its Green Recovery report urged the Scottish Government to "not lose sight of the pressing need to tackle climate change", suggesting a green recovery can help rebuild after Covid-19.

Written responses in the new survey revealed some of the hardships that workers have faced, both in the recent pandemic and as a result of volatility in the industry.

One worker said: “I have now been off work for 14 weeks and I have not received a penny due to me being employed by an agency. They have just ended my contract and hung me out to dry. I do not fall into any category for receiving any payment from anywhere.”

Another respondent answered: “I just think it’s a better work environment out of the oil and gas industry. It’s always boom and bust to some degree but the last five years have not been a pleasant environment to work in – that’s five years of mental toil.”

Scots teachers' safety strike warning as Covid positive pupil numbers soar tenfold in just six weeks


Exclusive by Martin Williams @MWilliamsHT Senior News Reporter


THE NUMBER of Scots pupils testing positive for coronavirus increased over ten-fold over just six weeks after they returned to school in August, the Herald can reveal.

New figures reveal that in the week in October before the half-term holiday, there were 409 school pupils testing positive for Covid-19 running at a rate of around 54 per 100,000 pupils. Nearly two in three were in secondary schools.

That has soared from at the start of the new term, when there were as few as 38 Covid-positive pupils - a rate of five per 100,000.

And the Herald can reveal that since then, Covid-related illness cases amongst pupils have since doubled again.

The figure come as unions have warned that teachers could refuse to attend schools if they feel that their environment is unsafe.

The rise in Covid cases amongst school pupils comes despite the fact the number of pupils actually tested for Covid slumped from 27,994 in the week starting on August 24, to just 4,449 before the October holiday.

The highest positive test rates are seen among S5-6 pupils in October where they reached 129 per 100,000.

Scotland's largest teachers union EIS has said teachers could carry out a "safety strike" if schools remain open full time. It has said school closures should be in the mix, and are surveying members on the effectiveness of Covid safety measures and on their willingness or otherwise to support ‘safety strikes’ should they be necessary.

Unions agree that blended or part-time learning - where education is a mix of being at home and in the classroom - should be on the table.

The Glasgow branch of the public service union UNISON called on the Scottish Government to "drop" it's attempt to keep schools and early years establishments fully open as more than two million people in 11 local authority areas - including Glasgow - are placed within Scotland's toughest Covid restrictions today (Friday).

READ MORE: Teachers 'being told to keep self-isolation numbers low'


The Level Four rules will see the closure of non-essential shops, pubs, restaurants and gyms.



They will be imposed in East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire.

North and South Lanarkshire, East and South Ayrshire, Stirling and West Lothian will also move to Level Four.

Brian Smith, Glasgow UNISON branch secretary said if workers believe that the current health and safety measures in their workplace are inadequate several courses of action are open, including in "extreme circumstances" refusing to attend schools under Section 44 of the Health and Safety Act. The union could also institute a collective grievance and report councils to the Health and Safety Executive.

He said: "The branch firmly believes that schools and early years establishments should not be fully operational during Level Four.

"We oppose the Scottish Government's position of attempting to maintain current service arrangements.

"There needs to be fewer staff and pupils attending schools and early years establishments."

EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said: "The EIS is strongly of the view that at Level 4 both blended and remote learning have to be actively considered as part of the operational arrangements, both in terms of ensuring schools are Covid secure and also as a contribution to making Level 4 an effective intervention.

"Level 4 is an indication of high levels of community infection which clearly impacts on schools as much as anywhere. We already have schools suffering severe disruption because of infection levels and self-isolation requirements; blended or remote leaning could bring stronger coherence to the education offer to pupils, over the short period of time which Level 4 is due to apply for. "We will be calling on local authorities to engage in meaningful discussions around how Level 4 is managed within schools."


But an expert scientific report commissioned by the Scottish Government has backed the government’s decision to keep schools open through the Covid-19 crisis.

READ MORE: Teachers say Scots school closures should be on the cards as Level 4 lockdown is imposed in 11 council areas

The paper, from the Covid-19 Advisory Sub-Group on Education and Children’s Issues, which examined the risks posed by the virus to pupils and staff, and the benefits to children and young people of schools remaining open, states the rate of coronavirus-related sickness among pupils is low across the country.

It asserted there was no direct evidence that transmission of the virus within schools plays a significant role in driving rates of infection among children.

Separate Scottish Government data shows that the number of pupils not in school for Covid-related reasons has doubled since the before the half-term break, reaching 30,028 on 11 November - about 4% of the school population. The vast majority of those pupils are self-isolating rather than showing Covid symptoms.

It emerged that half of one Scots secondary school is off after a total of 16 tested positive for coronavirus.

More than 400 pupils are self-isolating following an outbreak of coronavirus at Auchmuty High School in Glenrothes, Fife.

Head teacher, Alan Pithie said in a message that ten pupils and six staff members had tested positive for the virus.

John Swinney on Wednesday defended the decision to keep schools open in areas which are being moved to the toughest levels of lockdown restrictions. The deputy first minister said keeping schools open was "absolutely central" to the well-being of children and young people.

According to the Scottish Government over 0.2% of pupils tested positive for coronavirus in the first nine weeks of the school term restarting in Scotland.

Nicola Sturgeon said their findings reinforced her view the benefits of reopening schools outweigh the risks of increasing transmission rates.

She said on Wednesday: "While we will continue to listen carefully to all concerns, these findings do reinforce our view that at this time, the benefits young people gain from being in school outweigh the overall impact of schools on transmission rates."

The advisory sub-group paper – published to provide the evidence base for keeping schools open – says that there continued to be “strong evidence that children and younger people are much less susceptible to severe clinical Covid-19 disease than older people” and that there is “no current direct evidence that transmission within schools plays a significant contributory role in driving increased rates of infection among children”.

And it said that the prevalence of infection only began to increase in school-aged children in Scotland in mid-September and that coincided with an increase in community prevalence across all ages.

It says it is difficult to separate the risk from infection as a result of behaviour outside school and from in-school contacts.

It said that “there is clear evidence that time out of school has a detrimental effect on children and young people’s wellbeing, including impacts on developmental and mental health harms”.

New data also shows that on November 10, there were 748 children off school due to Covid-19-related illness, which includes those with symptoms but had not yet tested positive. That's nearly double the numbers who were off before the schools' half-term break in early October.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Being in school is in the best interests of children and our priority remains to ensure schools are safe, open and welcoming. We have put in place robust measures developed with input from the Education Recovery Group, which includes local authority and union representatives, to help us to protect our school community.

“The Health and Safety Executive has provided very positive feedback on the way schools are implementing the guidance. We are keeping this, and scientific evidence under review, so where there is a need to take further action, we will work with teachers, parents, trades unions, local authorities and young people’s representatives to do so.

“There is no current direct evidence that transmission within schools plays a significant contributory role in driving increased rates of infection among children..."

Neither the Scottish Government or Public Health Scotland were able to show they were aware of the number of pupils who had tested postive for Covid in November.

The Scottish Government were first asked if they had the numbers a fortnight ago. They were only able to be detail how many had Covid-related illness - which includes many who have symptoms but not necessarily the virus.

A spokesman said "the separation" into the number of Covid positive pupils "is not available to us" and eventually referred us to Public Health Scotland.

Public Health Scotland were unable to update.

Winter of discontent: Scotland's public sector staff warn of strikes as morale 'collapses'

Exclusive by Martin Williams @MWilliamsHT Senior News Reporter


EXCLUSIVE

SCOTLAND is facing a winter of discontent as a new survey found that over half of local government workers are prepared to take industrial action to improve working conditions as morale "collapses".

The new study, carried out for the union Unite Scotland lays bare the feelings of Scotland's 250,000 local government workers, who help keep the nation's public services running.

It says they have been hit through a triple whammy of high stress, low pay and job insecurity during the Covid pandemic.

It comes as Scotland faces a series of potential strikes of public sector workers affecting schools, ferries and trains.

The survey of 3000 local government workers reveals that nearly three quarters are experiencing workplace stress, and over half rated their workplace morale as "bad or terrible".

It found that workers, from cleaners, carers, caterers and early years workers to refuse workers, grave diggers and road maintenance workers were regularly working beyond their contracted hours (41%). And nearly one in four said the additional hours worked were unpaid.

Some 84% said low pay was the key issue for local government and 56% were prepared to take industrial action to secure a better pay increase.

It comes as Unite, launches a Imagine Life Without Us campaign focusing on the "essential" roles of local government workers.

The study, carried out in October, found that nearly half identified job security as a "major worry" and 43% said they had had their terms and conditions "cut".

It comes as Scots face huge council tax rises as cash-strapped councils seek more powers to raise funds.



The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) has asked to remove the cap for the rate of council tax which councils can set - which currently sits at three percent.

It said £500m of additional funding would be needed to help fund Scottish councils as authorities warn they faced "devastating" financial black holes.


The demands were part of a new Blueprint for Local Government document launched by COSLA which warned without "proper resourcing" cuts to council services are inevitable, risking the country's recovery from the virus.

Unions have already issued a 'safety strike' warning if teachers and staff feel their environment is unsafe, as the number of Scots pupils testing positive for Covid-19 has soared since they returned to the classroom in August. There are concerns about classroom safety as more than two million people in 11 local authority areas - including Glasgow - were placed within Scotland's toughest Covid restrictions yesterday.

CalMac union RMT has been calling on the state-run ferry operator to enter talks over a current pay dispute as it ballots staff on strike action.

And RMT has warned it will ballot nearly 2500 ScotRail staff on a strike and other forms of industrial action in a row over pay.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is currently contemplating a pay freeze for millions of public sector workers in England.

The 5.5 million affected include key workers lauded for their service during the pandemic, from the armed forces and police, to teachers and civil servants.

It is thought NHS staff would be exempt from the measures, but unions called a freeze for any sector "insulting".

Three weeks ago a 'Save our Services' campaign was launched as fears rose over council tax hikes to fill a £91m hole in the public finances of Glasgow alone over the next two years.

The public service union UNISON said Glasgow faces a "funding crisis", saying there is "historical unfairness" over the Scottish Government’s funding arrangements for the city exacerbated by what it called "a decade of Tory cuts from Westminster and now the Covid19 pandemic".

Unions including Unite launched an online Save Our Services petition calling for more money for the city and calls on councillors to refuse to implement any more cuts in the council budget whilst a campaign is built to win more money for the city.

Wendy Dunsmore, Unite regional officer said: “The survey findings highlight that morale has collapsed among local government workers who continue to keep our country moving, clean and compassionate as we enter the winter period.

“It’s clear that pay is the top issue after years of local government underfunding, cuts to terms and conditions, and the workforce regularly working beyond their contracted hours often not getting paid for this work."

Unite is calling for a 6% pay rise or £1,800 whichever is the greater, as part of the 2021 local government pay claim.

It said the survey findings are in the context of Scottish Government revenue funding to councils having been cut in real terms over the period 2013/14 to 2020/21 by 3.3 per cent. This does not include additional funding in response to the COVID-19 pandemic "We hope that the Scottish public will support our local government workers campaign and show their appreciation for the dedicated and professional work which has often gone beyond the call of duty during this pandemic," Ms Dunsmore added.

The COSLA blueprint document said the lack of funding has “immediate and long-term implications for local government’s ability to both manage the financial impacts of COVID-19 and continue to deliver essential services.”

A previous COSLA paper which emerged in July said: “Given the initial forecasts from local authorities it would require a council tax increase in 2021/22 in excess of 50 percent.”

Councils have broadly three main sources of funding – council tax, service charges and direct funding from the Scottish Government.

Council tax is the smallest with a 3% rise each April, raising around £7m per year in Glasgow.

A COSLA spokesman said: “The efforts of our workforce during this pandemic in terms of the delivery of essential services to communities has been incredible. As employers, we have worked closely with our trade unions colleagues throughout the period including weekly meetings to address any concerns.

“As befits the workforce who make a real difference to the lives of everyone in our communities, local authorities offer some of the best terms and conditions in the country. Our trade union colleagues joined us in our recent campaign to address stress levels called 'Don’t Stay on Mute'. Which included a video encouraging people to speak out.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We value the sacrifices and efforts of all our local authority workers which is why we have taken exceptional measures in every area of government to deal with the challenges of Covid-19.

“Councils are independent of the Scottish Government and they are responsible for managing their own budgets and resources, and for the pay of their employees."

Uganda opposition leader Bobi Wine charged, freed on bail
Issued on: 20/11/2020 - 


A Ugandan court on Friday charged opposition leader Bobi Wine over an election rally which allegedly flouted Covid-19 rules, then freed him on bail, after his detention sparked violence that left 37 dead. Wine was charged with "doing an act likely to spread infectious diseases contrary to the penal code and rules of the public health on Covid-19," said judiciary spokesman Solomon Muyita. FRANCE 24's Grainne Harrington tells us more.

   

Violent clashes over arrest of Ugandan opposition leader leave dozens dead

Issued on: 20/11/2020 - 00:57

A supporter of Ugandan musician turned politician Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, carries a poster as they protest on a street against the arrest of Bobi Wine during his presidential rally in Kampala, Uganda, on November 18, 2020. 

Badru Kadumba, AFP

Text by:FRANCE 24Follow


At least 37 people have been killed in two days of violent clashes between Ugandan security forces and supporters of detained opposition leader Bobi Wine, police said Friday, as tensions flared two months before a presidential election.

Ugandan security forces fired teargas and rubber bullets at angry protesters who set fires, barricaded roads and looted stores in the capital Kampala, as calls mounted for calm ahead of the January 14 elections.

The popstar-turned-presidential candidate Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, was released on bail on Friday after being charged with holding rallies likely to spread the coronavirus.

Wine had been arrested on Wednesday while campaigning in eastern Uganda for allegedly holding mass rallies in violation of restrictions on gatherings imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Police on Friday updated the death toll to 37, up from 16 on Thursday, alongside "45 injuries, some serious injuries,” Kampala police chief Moses Kafeero told AFP on Thursday, without giving details of those killed.

Police spokesman Fred Enanga also told reporters that 577 suspects had been arrested across the country for alleged involvement in violence and other offences.

Protests kicked off on Wednesday, when police said seven were killed, after Wine’s detention ahead of a rally. Wine is considered the main challenger to veteran president Yoweri Museveni who is seeking a sixth term in power.

Pockets of protests continued throughout the day in Kampala and other major towns, with youths barricading roads, starting fires and engaging in running battles with police who lobbed tear gas and fired rubber bullets at protesters, and in some cases, fired live bullets.

Kampala on fire, following the arrest, in Luuka, of presidential candidate Hon Robert Kyagulanyi (BOBI Wine). The protests are spreading quickly to other urban centres.

Many people have, reportedly, been short dead by the Police and Military in various parts of the city. pic.twitter.com/EFSZAdZfx2— Kifefe Kizza-Besigye (@kizzabesigye1) November 18, 2020

Gunshot wounds

The Red Cross said late Wednesday it had treated dozens of injured following “scuffles involving the police and the rioting masses”, including 11 people for gunshot wounds.

While the military and police maintained a heavy presence, by the evening the situation had deteriorated with robberies taking place and shops being looted.

An AFP journalist saw hooded men stopping vehicles in a suburb of Kampala, and robbing passengers before police opened fire on the perpetrators.

“My phone, money and handbag has been taken,” said 42-year-old Flavia Namutebi, a Kampala businesswoman who was in a taxi that was robbed.

“They said they want money to bail out Bobi Wine,” she said.

Another man identified as Ivan Kakawa, 29, a shoe seller, told AFP, “the men beat me and demanded I give them money.”

Uganda’s judiciary issued a statement saying a courthouse in the central town of Wobulenzi, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Kampala had been vandalised by protesters.

The old vs the new

Wine, 38, has long been a thorn in Museveni’s side, attracting a widespread following through catchy pop songs about social justice and corruption.

Many young Ugandans see him as their champion in a country mired in poverty and youth unemployment.

Museveni, a 76-year-old former rebel who seized power in 1986, is one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders.

Wine has been repeatedly arrested—most recently on November 3 after he filed his candidacy for the elections—his concerts are routinely banned and his public rallies broken up with teargas.

In New York, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Thursday called for Wine’s release.

“We call for the immediate release of the detained opposition leaders, including Bobi Wine, and it’s important that security forces act in a way that respects human rights principles and the rule of law in dealing with protesters.”

The US embassy published a tweet saying it deplored the violence and extended its sympathy to the victims and their families.

“We urge all parties to renounce violence, undertake good-faith measures to reduce tensions, and respect fundamental freedoms,” it said.



The United States deplores the violence that has claimed multiple lives today, and we extend our sympathy to the victims’ families and loved ones. We urge all parties to renounce violence, undertake good-faith measures to reduce tensions, and respect fundamental freedoms. pic.twitter.com/FewY3RgMNw— U.S. Mission Uganda (@usmissionuganda) November 18, 2020

Patrick Oboi Amuriat, the candidate with the Forum for Democratic Change, was also detained on Wednesday but was subsequently released.

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“I can say am out of police cells but not free as the police can arrest me any time as they have been doing,” he told AFP.

He said his party was reviewing whether to continue their campaign or not.

Two other presidential candidates, Henry Tumukunde and Gregory Mugisha Muntu, have called off their campaigns until Uganda’s electoral body takes action over what they called police brutality against opposition candidates.

Museveni made no immediate comment on the protests, and held a rally in the northeastern town of Karamoja.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, REUTERS)

Armed men in T-shirts enforce the law, raise election violence fears in Uganda

Issued on: 20/11/2020 - 

Supporters of Ugandan opposition presidential candidate Bobi Wine take cover from tear gas during his arrest in Luuka, Uganda, on November 18, 2020. © AFP

Text by:Leela JACINTO

Uganda this week witnessed its worst violence in a decade when demonstrators took to the streets to protest opposition presidential candidate Bobi Wine’s arrest. The ferocity of the violence and the state’s use of armed plainclothesmen raised alarm bells as President Yoweri Museveni, Africa’s longest-serving leader, faces a popular challenger in the January election.

The video clip, recorded from a family car packed with audibly panicking members on the outskirts of the Ugandan capital, Kampala, documents 45 seconds of raw human terror.

“These guys are shooting,” says a female voice inside the car while through the windshield, young men in T-shirts and jeans can be seen wielding automatic rifles on the street.

The panic mounts as the armed men start shooting wantonly into the air thick with teargas. “What?! Jesus!” cries the woman. “Mummy, mummy, I’m very scared,” whimpers the woman as the heavyset gunman shoots into the distance at chest level.

The video clip, posted on Twitter by leading Ugandan human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo, was just one of many disturbing images circulating on social media sites on Thursday as plainclothes and uniformed security officers shot demonstrators protesting the arrest of Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine, killing at least 37 people.

This is not a war zone. It is an election or what they call so in Uganda. We are fast spiraling into anarchy in here. We must restore calm & avoid bloodshed. Whoever wins in these circumstances may be a lawful but not a legitimate leader #StopTheBloodshed pic.twitter.com/o1dgWs8DDR— Nicholas Opiyo (@nickopiyo) November 19, 2020

“In the last couple of days we have begun to see very unusual things in this country: individuals driving private cars, wielding guns and shooting indiscriminately at anybody they see on the streets. These signs are extremely worrying,” said Opiyo in an interview with FRANCE 24 on Friday. “We believe the government has been hiring paramilitary militia in the guise of maintaining law and order.”

The video, Opiyo noted, was shot on Thursday by a colleague who wished to remain anonymous. “We have seen many like this online yesterday, but I can vouch for this video because I know the person who shot it,” he said.

Election season can be a particularly fraught time in Uganda. But this time, the violence started early and with a ferocity that raised alarm bells, exposing the high political stakes for President Museveni.

‘Let Museveni know that we are not slaves’

Museveni is running for re-election in the January 2021 polls after the country’s election commission on November 2 cleared the incumbent’s bid to extend his 34-year rule.

Since Museveni took power in 1986 after ousting a military government, the 76-year-old rebel soldier-turned-president has never lost a single election in his political career.

But he faces a serious threat next year from Wine, a 38-year-old musician-turned-politician.

Uganda’s “ghetto president”, as he’s popularly known, has captured the imagination of many voters and electrified his primarily young fan base with his fearless calls for Museveni to step down.

Wine – whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu – was arrested earlier this week and charged with flouting Covid-19 restrictions. Following Thursday’s violence – the country’s worst unrest in a decade – he was freed on bail on Friday and is due to appear in court again on December 18.

Speaking to journalists after his release, a weary-looking Wine sounded defiant. “Let Museveni know that we are not slaves and we shall not accept to be slaves,” he said. “We shall be free.”

The Wine arrest-release-defiance routine

Wine’s characteristic displays of defiance following his frequent arrests have turned into a familiar feature on the Ugandan political scene since he was elected to parliament in 2017.

Following a 2018 spell in jail, Wine was allowed to travel to the US for medical treatment for injuries sustained during his incarceration.

But if Uganda’s ruling party members harboured secret hopes that this young, green parliamentarian could be intimidated into staying on in the US, those dreams were soon dashed. Following his treatment, the crowd-gathering thorn in Museveni’s side returned to his homeland, vowing not to be intimidated. “I am a free Ugandan with the right to move freely in my country," he declared upon arrival.

Wine’s latest arrest was the second in barely a month. On November 3, he was detained shortly after filing his presidential candidacy. After being blocked from going to his offices, Wine was taken to his residence, where he addressed his supporters, displaying his torn suit jacket and pointing to injuries sustained by some of his associates during the arrest.

Uganda erupts after another arrest

But while Wine’s detentions are not new, the public reaction to his arrest this week caught experts and human rights defenders by surprise.

“Museveni’s hold on power has been achieved by visiting violence, intimidation, corruption and bribery – this is not new,” said Opiyo. “What’s new is the level of reaction from the public.”

Wine’s arrest on Wednesday triggered immediate protests in Kampala and quickly spread to other towns across the East African nation. By late Wednesday, the Red Cross said it had treated dozens of injured, including 11 people for gunshot wounds. By Thursday night, the situation had deteriorated, with shop windows broken and looted, and youths burning tyres on the streets, demanding Wine’s release.

Ugandan police maintain their forces were containing rioters who were targeting people who did not support Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP) party. "What we have seen in the last few days, that is violence, vandalism, looting, intimidation and threats, are crimes that were being committed [against] people who are not pro-NUP," said police spokesman Fred Enanga. "This is not something that we can tolerate."

‘Using Covid to obtain political advantage’

While admitting the situation had turned “very intense”, Opiyo noted that the disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by security officers had exacerbated the violence.

“There’s no doubt the brutality of the security agencies was met with unruly conduct by people who were outraged and using every means to express their outrage,” said Opiyo.

In a country mired in poverty and youth unemployment, public anger has been mounting against an ageing, governing clique that has arbitrarily deployed security officials to uphold the law as they see fit.

While Wine was arrested for flouting coronavirus restrictions, members of Museveni’s National Resistance Movement party have held packed campaign events in recent weeks that have been peacefully secured by law enforcement officials.

"Coronavirus restrictions are being used as an excuse for violent repression of the opposition and to give added advantage to the ruling party,” said Opiyo. “This is about using Covid to obtain political advantage.”


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The use of armed plainclothes men on Thursday has also terrified the citizenry, adding to insecurity fears in the run-up to the January 15 elections.

“This is not the first time we have seen them on the streets, often times they work alongside uniformed security personnel,” explained Opiyo. “But since they are government employed individuals, it’s often difficult to hold them to account.”

While the mysterious gunmen in T-shirts are allowed to “control the street” with impunity, human rights defenders in Uganda are bracing for a particularly intimidating campaign season.

A day after posting the posting the video clip and other images of armed men in civilian clothes, Opiyo admitted he was concerned for his safety as well as the safety of other human rights defenders and civil society activists in Uganda.

“I slept in my office last night because I got word that I was being trailed. They are very unhappy that I’m posting these updates. Two days ago, civil society activists were stopped in their car, and taken out and beaten, journalists are being beaten, any group that questions the authorities are being brutalised,” said Opiyo. “I don’t feel safe, but this is my home and I’m not going anywhere.”

Yemen in 'imminent danger' of world's worst famine in decades: UN

Issued on: 20/11/2020 - 

A Yemeni boy receives aid donated by the World Food Programme (WFP) in the country's third city of Taez, in October 2020 -- UN chief Antonio Guterres warns Yemen is in imminent danger of the worst famine the world has seen in decades AHMAD AL-BASHA AFP/File

United Nations (United States) (AFP)

War-torn Yemen is in imminent danger of the worst famine the world has seen in decades, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned Friday.

"In the absence of immediate action, millions of lives may be lost," Guterres said of the country that has endured a five year war between Iranian-backed Huthi rebels and government forces.

The government in Yemen is supported by a Saudi-led coalition, assisted by Western powers including the US.

Outgoing President Donald Trump's administration has made isolating its arch foe Tehran a centerpiece of US regional policy.

The warning from Guterres, the latest in a series from the UN on Yemen, comes amid reports that the Trump administration is considering labeling the Huthis a terrorist organization.

That could cripple aid deliveries and make things even worse in Yemen, aid groups say.

In his statement, Guterres made only indirect reference to this possibility.

"I urge all those with influence to act urgently on these issues to stave off catastrophe, and I also request that everyone avoids taking any action that could make the already dire situation even worse," the secretary-general said.

He said the reasons for the heightened threat of famine include a sharp drop in funding for the UN-coordinated relief program, the instability of the Yemeni currency and the warring parties imposing "impediments" for relief organizations.

The Huthi rebels control the Yemeni capital Sanaa and much of the north after a grinding war that has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The US labeling the rebels a terrorist group would mean many countries would have trouble interacting with the Huthis.

The impact on the Huthis, who are already under US sanctions, may be limited but ordinary Yemenis could pay the price, with further damage to aid programs already cut back due to record-low funding during the coronavirus pandemic.

Everything from dealing with Huthi officials, handling taxes, using the banking system, paying health workers, buying food and fuel and arranging internet services could be affected, humanitarian groups say.

© 2020 AFP

Palestinians with disabilities battling PA for vital healthcare
Covid-19 has exposed a deeply flawed health insurance system that lets disabled Palestinians down badly

Disability rights activists including Abdelrahman Awwad (C) and Shatha Abu Srour (R) have staged a sit-in for nearly three weeks in Ramallah. The banner reads: "We die of coronavirus and we die of medical negligence" (MEE/Shatha Hammad)

By Shatha Hammad in Ramallah, occupied West Bank
Published date: 20 November 2020 17:07 UTC | Last update: 11 hours 3 mins ago

Palestinians with disabilities are in the third week of a sit-in protest inside the offices of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, demanding the right to comprehensive health insurance as guaranteed under law.

Under the slogan, "A movement for a decent life for people with disabilities", activists are stressing the need for a just health insurance system, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic revealed large gaps in the healthcare provided to individuals with disabilities.

Protesters are also calling on the Palestinian Authority to abide by the international treaties it has ratified, most notably the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

'As long as we are still trying we have not failed, and today we are becoming more persistent and we won’t back down'

- Abdelrahman Awwad, 46, protester

Protest coordinator Shatha Abu Srour told Middle East Eye that the imposition of the state of emergency amid the spread of coronavirus and the precautionary measures taken by the Palestinian government have disrupted the lives of many individuals with disabilities and their dependents, without providing sufficient support to counter these effects.

"People with disabilities were not included in the emergency plan drawn up by the government; they were disregarded,” the 35-year-old, who is vision impaired, said. "We went to the presidential office and asked them to formulate a plan and support it with a budget, but they refused."

The PA is widely seen as having cracked down on local political and social movements in recent years through arrests and the use of physical force, including during the teachers’ strike of 2016 and against the movement calling for the lifting of PA sanctions on the besieged Gaza Strip in 2018.

As such, the renewed push by the disability rights movement is significant and not without risk - but activists are determined to keep pushing.
A longstanding fight

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, there were some 93,000 people with disabilities in the occupied Palestinian territories in 2019, and the unemployment rate for individuals with disabilities stood at 37 percent in 2017.

The Palestinian Basic Law, the equivalent to a constitution, stipulates that any person with a disability has the right to obtain comprehensive health insurance. But Abu Srour, who is the Palestine representative at the Arab Forum for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, explained that the PA health insurance system does not match up with the Basic Law.

'The demands of people with disabilities are consistent with the Basic Law and international conventions that the Palestinian Authority has signed on to'

- Khadija Zahran, Independent Commission for Human Rights

"Only 14,000 people with disabilities have health insurance. Insurance is granted to only those with a disability rate of more than 60 percent,” she said, adding that the PA’s current health system excludes a set of health and rehabilitation services and devices needed by people with disabilities.

Khadija Zahran, director of the legislation and policy review department at the statutory watchdog, the Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), said that while Palestinian law requires the state to provide a just health insurance regardless of an individual’s type of disability, the existing insurance system is flawed.

She explained that the current system does not cover some auxiliary services, including wheelchairs for people with mobility impairments, as well as hearing aids, certain lab exams, and certain restoration operations that are considered "cosmetic operations".

"The defects are evident in the health insurance system,” said Zahran. “The demands of people with disabilities are consistent with the Basic Law and international conventions that the Palestinian Authority has signed on to.”

While the movement pushing for better health coverage for people with disabilities in the occupied West Bank was initially launched in 2018, it faded out after none of its demands were met or fulfilled by the PA.

That year, the PA Council of Ministers, the minister of development, the Ministry of Health and Development and the Union of People with Disabilities met to formulate new and just legislation, yet nothing changed.
‘We won’t back down’

But the pandemic has prompted the renewal of the movement after it revealed the disparities in healthcare provided to people with disabilities at the levels of diagnosis, medical treatment and rehabilitation.

Abu Srour said that they decided to “fight directly for our issues, the most important of which is obtaining comprehensive health insurance".


In addition to the sit-in, scores of protesters both with and without disabilities have been standing at the doors of the PLC building in solidarity. PA forces have shut down the area in the vicinity and threatened to disperse and arrest the protesters.

Activists, including Awwad, have displayed signs reading 'We demand government health care that is full and fair for people with disabilities' (MEE/Shatha Hammad)

Hamza Nasser, 32, a demonstrator, told MEE that he and others tried to protest at the Council of Ministers office - also located in Ramallah - but were prevented from doing so by security forces, who sent a security official for Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh to listen to the protesters’ demands.

"The sit-in succeeded in generating some initiatives by human rights organisations and activists, but what we need is a cabinet response to the movement's demands,” Nasser said.


'We are not holding a sit-in for a group, but for the sake of the whole community. Each one of us is liable to become a person with a disability at any moment'

- Abdelrahman Awwad, protester

Abdelrahman Awwad, 46, has not left the PLC offices since the beginning of the sit-in on 3 November. He told MEE of the long journey fighting for people with disabilities’ basic rights.

“In 2017, we carried out a sit-in and we were accused of having foreign agendas. We started back up again in 2018, but we did not achieve anything,” he said. “But as long as we are still trying we have not failed, and today we are becoming more persistent and we won’t back down."

Despite the cold temperatures and their health conditions, the protesters are adamant about remaining at the sit-in.

"Many people with disabilities are currently uncomfortable in their homes and are deprived of many necessary medications and aids,” Awwad said.

“There is no time limit to this protest; it will only end when our demands are met.

"Today we are not holding a sit-in for a group, but for the sake of the whole community. Each one of us is liable to become a person with a disability at any moment.”

Saudi Arabia's G20 challenge: Investing in human rights

In the face of international pressure, the Saudi government may have no choice but to address human rights

James Suzano
, Salma Houerbi
20 November 2020


Saudi Arabia will chair the annual G20 summit on 21 November (AFP)


As Saudi Arabia prepares to chair the annual G20 summit on 21 November, the kingdom finds itself at an interesting - and potentially dire - crossroads. Oil prices have plummeted this year, largely as a consequence of Covid-19, with Saudi Aramco reporting a 50 percent fall in net income in the first half of its fiscal year.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman maintains an ambitious economic diversification plan, Vision 2030, which hopes to boost the economy using one main instrument: foreign-investment-led mega projects. There’s just one problem. In a post-Khashoggi Saudi Arabia, foreign investment appears to be necessarily linked to human rights reforms, a subject historically anathema to the kingdom.
Disappearing investors

The immediate aftermath of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi left Saudi Arabia in economic peril. An economy worth $790bn brought in less than $5bn in foreign direct investment last year - less than half the government’s target, and a number likely to shrink further in 2020. Many foreign investors who had, just months prior, been scrambling to secure economic deals in line with Vision 2030, disappeared overnight.

International businesses are slowly shying away from mega project investments. Let’s take the case of Neom, a mega project envisioned as the city of the future. The $500bn Neom scheme is planned to span three countries, covering 26,500 square kilometres, with unprecedented features: flying taxis to take residents to work, artificial sand and robot maids.


If the kingdom is serious about transitioning to a sustainable, diverse and world-leading economy, it will have no choice but to improve its human rights record

Back in 2018, the chief executive of German multinational Siemens, which had been identified as a potential partner in the development of Neom, risked billions of dollars’ worth of business by pulling out of a major investment forum in Saudi Arabia, citing human rights concerns. More recently, the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights reported that Japan’s SoftBank, which had been previously identified as a potential investment partner, had not yet committed to supporting Neom.

When e-sports league Riot Games announced a partnership with the Neom project earlier this year, it met a huge outcry from fans and supporters. Twitter exploded with reports of Saudi Arabia’s abysmal human rights record. The pressure mounted so rapidly and furiously that Riot Games announced the termination of the Neom partnership less than 24 hours after it had been revealed.

The message from the international community could not be clearer: if the kingdom is serious about transitioning to a sustainable, diverse and world-leading economy, it will have no choice but to improve its human rights record.
Glacial pace of reforms

There are nascent signs that Saudi Arabia may be picking up on at least some of these priorities. Its government made headlines in 2018 by allowing women to drive. It also recently announced that it would end child executions, and made shy commitments to end the exploitative kafala system. Yet, implementation of reforms has been glacial, with mixed responses from civil society groups.

Meanwhile, abuses associated with the Neom project continue unabated, as construction involves the bulldozing of local indigenous communities. A spate of human rights abuses associated with Neom reached a climax in April, when activist Abdul Rahim al-Hwaiti was killed by Saudi security forces after his tribe protested against the implementation of the mega project. Saudi authorities said the activist had attacked security forces.

A drone taxi, part of an exhibition on Neom, is pictured in Riyadh in 2017 (Reuters)

In October, tribal leaders petitioned the United Nations to intervene in the project, citing substantial human rights concerns. Looking ahead, human rights watchdogs are already sounding the alarm over the rapidly developing Saudi surveillance state, raising issues that would be compounded in a high-tech mega-city.

The international community has a vital opportunity to alter the path forward. Lessons can be learned from the Riot Games experience. With increasing, bottom-up pressure stemming from workers and worldwide consumers, alongside the activism of a vibrant dissident Saudi diaspora, international businesses will likely pay increased attention to the reputational costs of involvement with the wrong partners, and further scrutinise the human rights implications of their operations in Saudi Arabia.

Social dialogue

Beyond priceless PR campaigns, Saudi Arabia will need to change its relationship with human rights if it hopes to shift its economy and change its relationship with the international community. This starts at the fundamental level, by applying human rights-focused due diligence everywhere, including at the conceptual stage of projects such as Neom, while guaranteeing buy-in from local communities and obtaining a social licence to operate.

A vision for a democratic Saudi Arabia free from the house of Saud Read More »

Social dialogue, a key driver of business growth and economic performance, should also form the basis of the kingdom’s new social contract under Vision 2030. The Saudi government could then continue by respecting and protecting political and social rights, ending crackdowns on local indigenous populations, and rooting out systemic discrimination against women and migrant workers - perhaps all pipe dreams several years ago, but attainable in the new Saudi context.

With the world’s largest economic powers arriving in the country for the G20 summit, this is a golden opportunity for the international community, governments and businesses to demand fundamental changes from the Saudi government.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.

James Suzano
James Suzano is the Director of Legal Affairs for the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR), and coordinates ESOHR's legal and English-language advocacy towards the betterment of the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia. He is a qualified attorney registered in New York, USA and received his Juris Doctorate from UCLA School of Law in 2013.

Salma Houerbi
Salma Houerbi is a researcher interested in Business and Human Rights, equality and social inclusion. She is currently the MENA regional representative for UK founded NGO, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre

Families of jailed Saudis appeal to world ahead of G20

Issued on: 20/11/2020 - 

Amnesty International projects images of jailed Saudi activists including Loujain al-Athloul on the Louvre Museum in Paris THOMAS COEX AFP

Washington (AFP)

Families of imprisoned Saudis appealed Friday for the world to speak up as the kingdom hosts the Group of 20 summit, saying that challenging the kingdom's international reputation was crucial to winning their freedom.

As leaders of the world's largest economies prepared for talks Saturday that have gone virtual due to the Covid-19 pandemic, activists staged a "counter-summit" in hopes of throwing a spotlight on the ultra-conservative kingdom's human rights record.

PEN America, the literary group that defends free expression, called the online forum amid continued outrage over the 2018 murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi, who was strangled and dismembered inside Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate.

"All of our relatives are in danger. They are facing the threat of what Jamal Khashoggi has seen on a daily basis," said Areej al-Sadhan, who says her brother, Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, was picked by up Saudi secret police in March 2018.

"Your voices are going to help keep them safe," she said.

Abdulrahman al-Sadhan was seized in the Riyadh office of the Red Crescent humanitarian group, where he worked, after he voiced opinions on human rights and social justice on an anonymous Twitter account, according to the family.

Areej al-Sadhan, who lives in California, says she has faced shadowy threats since speaking about her brother, including a warning she was going to be "thrown into the sewer system."

One of the most prominent Saudis in custody is 31-year-old Loujain al-Hathloul, a key figure in the campaign to allow Saudi women to drive who was arrested in May 2018 weeks before the kingdom lifted its ban on female drivers.

She has been on a hunger strike since October 26 when her parents visited her and found her to be "very weak and hopeless," said her sister, Lina al-Hathoul.

"We should not underestimate the power we have with our voices," Lina, who has lived in Europe for several years, told the counter-summit.

"Even one word asking about political prisoners and prisoners of conscience -- saying their names, making sure they're not forgotten -- really is something that could save them."

- Change expected under Biden -

Outgoing US President Donald Trump has aligned himself closely with Saudi Arabia, hailing its purchases of US weapons and hostility toward US adversary Iran.

Trump said of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that he "saved his ass" after a US Senate resolution, which followed a CIA briefing, found the powerful young royal responsible for Khashoggi's killing.

Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, told the counter-summit that he expected President-elect Joe Biden to address human rights in Saudi Arabia and the kingdom's support for a brand of Islam that "forms the building blocks of global extremist movements."

"It is past time for us to recognize that Saudi Arabia is a deeply imperfect ally and that our priorities in this relationship have been long skewed in a way that, I argue, is not to the advantage of the United States in the long run," Murphy said.

Dozens of Democratic lawmakers had urged the Trump administration to boycott the G20, seeing it as part of efforts for Saudi Arabia to rebrand itself without meaningful reforms.

Instead, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit in person hours after the virtual summit.

Safa al-Ahmad, acting director of the Saudi rights group ALQST, said the kingdom's outreach efforts, such as inviting Western musicians, have been geared entirely at improving its public image abroad without reform at home.

"There is a limit to the hypocrisy and the gaslighting of the Saudi government. The reality is very, very different from what the government continues to claim."

© 2020 AFP

Campaigns to boycott Saudi Arabia G20 summit gain momentum
From hashtags to petitions, damning statements and full-page newspaper ads, human rights groups demand kingdom be held accountable

G20 logo is projected at historical al-Tarif in Diriyah district on outskirts of Saudi capital, Riyadh, on 20 November (AFP)

By Sheren Khalel
Published date: 20 November 2020 

Human rights groups and activists have intensified calls to boycott the Group of 20 (G20) summit hosted by Saudi Arabia this weekend, demanding the kingdom release jailed activists.

The summit, held virtually this year amid the Covid-19 pandemic, is an annual meeting of the world's 20 largest economies.

Although a different G20 country hosts the meeting each year, to the dismay of human rights defenders around the globe, Saudi Arabia is leading the 2020 global gathering on Saturday and Sunday.

Pointing to issues from a lack of accountability for 2018 murder and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi to the country's continued imprisonment of activists, rights groups have launched powerful campaigns calling on the international community to hold the kingdom accountable.

'Hypocrisy of the highest order'

On Friday, the UK-based Arab Organisation for Human Rights (AOHR), along with the families of three womens' rights activists imprisoned in the kingdom, took out full-page advertisements in some of the world's leading newspapers, including the Washington Post, LA Times, the Guardian, Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung and Canada's Star.

"While Saudi Arabia hosts the summit, it continues to detain scholars and activists - men and women - and deprive them of their basic human rights in blatant hypocrisy," the group said in a statement highlighting the ad campaign.

"The summit is being attended by the leaders of the G20 nations around the world, including the United States, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and Italy - nations that pride themselves on upholding human rights," AOHR said, calling for Saudi Arabia to release all political prisoners.

"This is hypocrisy of the highest order and is not compatible with the laws and ethos."

اليوم في الصحف الكبرى بأوروبا وأمريكا مثل الجارديان والواشنطن بوست وال إل ايه تايمز وغيرها.. هذا الإعلان لمقاطعة قمة العشرين في السعودية في ظل اعتقال أصحاب الرأي والضمير في السعودية#G20SaudiArabia #G20RiyadhSummit #PENCounterSummit#G20 #قمه_العشرين pic.twitter.com/57VudVgKQV— د. عبدالله العودة (@aalodah) November 20, 2020

Many of the ads featured images of US President Donald Trump meeting with de facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), and highlighted the kingdom's ban on independent human rights organisations.

"Boycott G20! End the opression!" the ads read. "Crown Prince MBS uses G20 to whitewash his crimes".

They also stressed Saudi Arabia's track record of extrajudicial killings, the detention of women's rights advocates and journalists, and the country's government-sanctioned executions, which in 2019 amounted to 178 deaths.
Hashtag 'hijack'

The Washington Post Press Freedom Partnership, along with Reporters Without Borders (known by its French acronym, RSF), also took out a full-page newspaper advert in the Washington Post this month calling for the release of journalists and other activists jailed in Saudi Arabia.

Ahead of #G20SaudiArabia, the @wppressfreedom published a full page ad from @RSF_en calling for the release of 34 jailed journalists in Saudi Arabia and other activists, who were only trying to make a difference in the Kingdom. pic.twitter.com/hvWbAvBEu5— Colossus Diplomacy (@ColossusDiplo) November 16, 2020

"G20 members must act without delay to obtain concrete press freedom improvements in Saudi Arabia," the ad read.

RSF has also launched a social media campaign seeking to "hijack" the hashtag #G20SaudiArabia with critical messages aimed at the kingdom.

"RSF is calling for international public support to hijack the official #G20SaudiArabia hashtag with messages and images in support of the country’s 34 unjustly jailed journalists," the group said on the campaign's webpage, which includes a pre-written Twitter post users can customise for their own posts.

Saudi Arabia ranks 170 out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2020 World Press Freedom Index.

"Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s most prolific jailers of journalists," RSF says, going on to denounce the "continued impunity" of officials involved in the murder and dismemberment of Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate two years ago.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has also called on the international community to pressure Saudi Arabia to release political prisoners and "provide accountability for past abuses" ahead of the G20 summit, and has encouraged social media users to post such demands with the #G20SaudiArabia hashtag.

The hashtag has now been used by scores of human rights groups and activists, detracting from the public relations tweets aimed at rejuvenating the country's international image.

"The G20 presidency has conferred an undeserved mark of international prestige on the government of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at HRW, in a statement announcing the hashtag campaign earlier this month.

"Instead of signalling its concern for Saudi Arabia’s serious abuses, the G20 is bolstering the Saudi government’s well-funded publicity efforts to portray the country as 'reforming', despite a significant increase in repression since 2017," he said.

On Thursday, Kenneth Roth, executive director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), reiterated the call for accountability.

Governments joining the virtual G20 summit hosted by Saudi Arabia shouldn't let the crown prince whitewash his horrible rights record. Speak out about the Khashoggi cover-up, the jailing of women's rights activists, and the bombing of Yemeni civilians. https://t.co/atBeLPXXgb pic.twitter.com/Dvusvwi7WR— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) November 19, 2020

"Governments joining the virtual G20 summit hosted by Saudi Arabia shouldn't let the crown prince whitewash his horrible rights record," Roth said on Twitter.

"Speak out about the Khashoggi cover-up, the jailing of women's rights activists, and the bombing of Yemeni civilians."

'Are you going to ask about her?'

The sister of Loujain Hathloul, one of the women's rights activists who has been on hunger strike at Al-Hayer high security prison since 26 October, has been using the #G20SaudiArabia hashtag in her own posts and retweets, calling for her sister's release.

Dear #G20 leaders, my activist sister @LoujainHathloul is in prison since May 2018 and on her 23rd day of hunger strike. Saudi Arabia refuses to give us any access to her. Are you going to ask about her? Are you going to call on her release? #G20RiyadhSummit #G20SaudiArabia https://t.co/P35fLbfOXG pic.twitter.com/4nqMDcpVwD— Lina Alhathloul لينا الهذلول (@LinaAlhathloul) November 19, 2020

Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the UK allegedly said last month that the government was considering the release of some of its imprisoned female activists ahead of the summit due to mass criticism, but the embassy later denied the report.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International has launched its own campaign, asking people around the globe to sign its petition urging world leaders to use the G20 gathering to pressure Saudi authorities to release all the women's rights activists imprisoned in the kingdom.

As of early Friday morning in the US, the petition had garnered 200,000 signatures.

"The government of Saudi Arabia is trying to improve its image, investing millions of dollars in a public relations campaign so that countries and businesses in the EU and the USA will help it realise its 2030 economic vision," Amnesty said, referring to Saudi Arabia's 10-year plan to diversify its economy away from fossil fuels amid market changes caused by climate concerns.

"This public relations campaign is masking a government campaign of repression, intolerance and human rights violations in Saudi Arabia, and many of these violations are legitimised through the deeply instrumentalised ‘Specialised Criminal Court’," the group said on its petition webpage.

Israel plans to expand settlement cutting off Jerusalem from West Bank towns
Sulaiman Lkaderi
19 November 2020 
Israel has pushed on with plans to build a new settlement neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem, a watchdog group said on Sunday, warning that such efforts were being stepped up before US President Donald Trump leaves office in January.