Several human rights organisations and activists have criticised French President Emmanuel Macron for hosting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in Paris on Friday. It was the Crown Prince’s first tour of Europe since the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who most of the international community agrees was killed at the order of MBS.
Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), tweeted on Thursday that Macron’s visit with MBS will only embolden the Saudi government to expand its crackdown on critics and activists. He noted that the meeting essentially abandons the Saudi people who have suffered under the monarchy.
HRW France chief Bénédicte Jeannerod said Macron’s meeting with the Crown Prince amounts to rehabilitating MBS on the international stage despite the “atrocious murder” of Khashoggi and Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations in Yemen. Jeannerod stated that the meeting was “a slap in the face to all the victims of the serious abuses he [MBS] oversees and his brutal repression.”
It's not enough for Macron to "raise human rights concerns" during his private dinner with the Saudi crown prince, as his prime minister claims he will. What will the Saudi people seeking their rights hear? Will they feel emboldened or abandoned by Macron. https://t.co/8erUx0RHih
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) July 28, 2022
“Unless strong, concrete human rights commitments were secured with Saudi government prior to the visit, which nothing indicates, Macron hosting MBS only risks further rehabilitating him and whitewashing his image despite horrendous rights abuses,” she added.
Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard told AFP that she felt “profoundly troubled by the visit, because of what it means for our world and what it means for Jamal [Khashoggi] and people like him.” She called MBS a “murderous prince” who does not shy away from suppressing and assassinating critics.
“The rehabilitation of the murderous Prince will be justified in France as in the United States by arguments of realpolitik. But it’s actually bargaining that predominates, let’s face it,” Callamard asserted.
Unless strong, concrete human rights commitments were secured with Saudi gov prior to the visit, which nothing indicates, Macron hosting MBS only risks further rehabilitating him and whitewashing his image despite horrendous rights abuses https://t.co/ZE0cHPs82X pic.twitter.com/qQvk0v3u6F
— Bénédicte Jeannerod (@BenJeannerod) July 28, 2022
Moreover, Khashoggi’s fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, said she was “scandalised and outraged” by Macron’s decision to host MBS. “All the international investigations carried out up to this point recognise the responsibility of MBS in the assassination of Khashoggi,” she remarked.
Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi monarchy, was killed in 2018 after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain paperwork to marry Cengiz. Last February, a US intelligence report released by the Biden administration accused MBS of approving Khashoggi’s assassination. The document said that MBS had “absolute control” of the Saudi security apparatus, which made it unlikely that Saudi officials carried out the killing without his authorisation. Riyadh, however, has fiercely denied claims that the Crown Prince was involved.
French Prime Minister (PM) Élisabeth Borne defended Macron’s decision to meet MBS, saying it was crucial to ensure that Saudi Arabia increases its oil output amid the European energy crisis. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the European Union (EU) vowed to reduce its dependence on Russian energy. Europe currently depends on Russia for around 40% of its natural gas needs.
🎥 | HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets President of #France @EmmanuelMacron at the Elysee Palace in #Paris. 🇸🇦🇫🇷
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) July 28, 2022
pic.twitter.com/Wteu8m4vqV
“Obviously, this isn’t about casting aside our principles. It’s not about calling into question our commitment in favour of human rights. The president will surely have an opportunity to talk about this with MBS,” Borne added.
While there was no official statement on whether any energy deal had been reached, reports have claimed that Paris has pressed Riyadh to increase its oil output to reduce global oil prices, which soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions on Moscow.
Before his meeting with Macron, MBS met with Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens to discuss expanding energy ties. According Bloomberg, both sides agreed to cooperate in renewable energy and agreed on a deal to transfer electricity from Saudi Arabia to Europe through Greece.