LONDON (Middle East Eye) – The UK government is facilitating collaboration between British businesses and the planned Saudi megacity Neom, despite serious human rights abuses taking place to make way for the project.
The Saudi government has been accused of forcibly displacing members of the Howeitat tribe, who have lived for centuries in the Tabuk province in northwest Saudi Arabia, to make way for the $500bn city.
At least 47 members of the tribe have been either arrested or detained for resisting eviction, including five who have been sentenced to death, according to a report by the UK-based Alqst rights group.
UN experts have expressed alarm at the imminent execution of three members of the tribe who reportedly “resist[ed] forced evictions in the name of the Neom project”.
Recent job and event advertisements seen by Middle East Eye show the UK Department for Business and Trade encouraging British companies to learn about opportunities at Neom and invest in the project.
But the department would not say what steps, if any, it had taken to ensure that its efforts are not contributing to human rights abuses at Neom.
Last year, the government recruited a senior trade adviser with the specific responsibility of helping UK companies invest in projects in northwest Saudi Arabia, principally Neom.
“The main purpose of this job is to support UK companies seeking to develop their business through trade with Saudi Arabia, with a particular focus on Neom,” the job ad said.
The successful candidate would be required to “operate from within close proximity to Neom”.
The start date of the job was November 2022. The department would not confirm if the position has been filled, stating that it did not comment on human resources matters.
On the department’s exporting guide for Saudi Arabia, it lists Neom among several “giga projects... which offer opportunities for UK businesses”, and adds that solar and wind renewable energy projects were at the tendering stage in Neom.
In April 2020, activist Abdul-Rahim al-Howeiti was shot dead by security forces shortly after making videos protesting against his eviction to make way for the megacity.
Alqst’s report lays out how authorities evicted Howeitat residents, often against their will, in contravention of international law.
In March 2020, authorities sent in special forces, sometimes 40 vehicles at a time, to raid the homes of those resisting eviction and intimidate them.