In 2020, Freedom Forward and a global coalition of organizations organized a successful boycott of Saudi Arabia as host of the 2020 G20 summit of world leaders. Our goal is to end Western support for this brutal dictatorship and to push the Saudi monarchy to end its human rights crimes.
Read about our successful campaigns in the Quincy Institute journal Responsible Statecraft, or check out the details below.
- US Congress: 45 Members of Congress, led by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, have called on outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to demand human rights reforms and drop out of the Saudi G20.
- Press conference (Facebook video) with Rep. Schakowsky, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Freedom Forward’s Sunjeev Bery and Bethany Alhaidari, Areej Sadhan, sister of imprisoned Saudi humanitarian aid worker Abdulrahman Al-Sadhan, and Alia Al-Hathloul, sister of imprisoned Saudi women’s rights activist Loujain Al-Hathloul.
- Read Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s statement, Freedom Forward’s Sunjeev Bery in Ms. Magazine, and Fox News coverage.
- European Parliament: 413 Members of the European Parliament have passed a resolution calling on European Union leaders to downgrade the EU representation at the G-20 summit.
- Read more in DW (Germany) and in the journal Responsible Statecraft.
- UK Parliament: 20+ UK Members of Parliament are now calling on the UK government to “reconsider” its participation in the Saudi G20.
- Read more from the UK Parliament.
- Global Mayors: The Mayors of London, Paris, New York City, and Los Angeles have all boycotted the Saudi G20 “Urban 20” summit of mayors.
- New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s boycott: Read our letter, as well as news coverage in the Daily News (New York), Associated Press, and Middle East Eye.
- London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s boycott: Read our letter, as well as news coverage in The Guardian (9/20/20 and 9/30/2020), AFP, and Middle East Eye (9/29/2020 and 9/30/2020).
- Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s boycott: Read our letter, as well as news coverage in Le Parisien and Les Nouvelles News.
- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s boycott: Read our letter, as well as Mayor Garcetti’s email announcement to constituents.
Bill de Blasio (New York), Eric Garcetti (Los Angeles), Anne Hidalgo (Paris), Sadiq Khan (London).