Saudi Arabia’s attitude to human rights cannot be changed overnight, the government’s minister for the Middle East has claimed, arguing that any progress would need to “move at a pace that is acceptable to [the country’s] society”.
Tobias Ellwood, who is parliamentary under-secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs, said the Saudi government was well aware of the British government’s disapproval of human rights abuses by the country.
The minister had already come under fire from opposition parties for initially describing the announcement of Saudi Arabia’s execution of 47 people, including the prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, as “disappointing”. The British Foreign Office later issued a tougher message calling for restraint on all sides.
The executions sparked protests in Shia-dominated Iran, where the Saudi embassy was stormed. This led to the Saudis breaking off diplomatic relationswith Tehran, followed by Bahrain and Sudan.
Called to make a statement to MPs on the UK’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, Ellwood said: “Founded just under 100 years ago, Saudi Arabia is a relatively young country and we recognise change cannot happen overnight. The human rights situation in Saudi Arabia reflects widely held conservative social values and as such needs to move at a pace that is acceptable to its society.
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