What the Saudi Arabia episode tells us about our world
“It is about building a world, step by painful step, based on law and respect for dignity.”
A few years back I wrote a book called “Exporting Democracy: The Risks and Rewards of Pursuing a Good Idea.” At the time I was the foreign policy critic for the Liberal Party of Canada, and was reflecting on the tensions that inevitably arise for Canada when we put our values in the forefront of our foreign policy.
My father, Saul, was a Canadian diplomat for 40 years, and I grew up in a family where these issues were debated on a regular basis. The frequent criticism of Canada in the ‘60s was that we were too quiet in our concerns about American intervention in Vietnam — which Lester Pearson tried to meet by calling for a “pause” in the bombing of North Vietnam in a speech at Temple University in the United States.
Charles Ritchie’s diary describes in graphic detail what happened when Pearson was greeted by President Johnson at his Texas ranch. Towering over Canada’s prime minister, Johnson grabbed him by the lapels and accused him of “pissing on the carpet,” the pursuit of a value-based foreign policy (urged on him by many Canadians) had the clearest of consequences. Johnson did not recall his ambassador, or cancel the auto pact, but he left Canada with no doubt that free speech only went so far.
Governments have to think consequentially. The issue is not “will I feel better if I say this?” But, “what will happen if I say this?” Silence has consequences, and so do the words and actions we take. Governments weigh these questions every day. And sometimes, as most recently, the countervailing action is unpredictable and seems out of proportion to the comments.
As the world shrinks, and our awareness of actual conditions in every country grows exponentially, the idea that we can ignore what is happening, or pretend that we don’t know, is not possible.
Most governments today are not democratic. Many are serial abusers of human rights. Of necessity, we deal and do business with all of them every day. And we also have to admit that we do not always live up to the standards that we set for ourselves.
The United Nations and its agencies deal with these questions every day. Being made up of the full variety of regimes and governments around the world, the UN itself is, to put it mildly, imperfect.
Its Human Rights Council, for example, issued a statement on human rights in Saudi Arabia before either Chrystia Freeland or the Global Affairs Twitter feed weighed in with their concerns.
But what the Saudi response to these concerns — recalling and expelling diplomats, cutting off aid to thousands of Saudi students, selling investments in Canadian assets, and all this in 48 hours — demonstrates the adage that it is hard to be angry and smart at the same time.
The Saudis have said “don’t worry, our oil is still for sale, “proving students can be pawns in the game but not oil exports, and some things are “above politics.”
Raif Badawi, who is a Saudi national whose wife and three children live in Quebec, is in jail because he blogs for human rights. Badawi’s sister, Samar Badawi, has now joined him in jail.
Saudi Arabia insists we “mind our own business.” But the incarceration and flogging of the husband of Canadian citizen is our business, and the rule of law is everyone’s business.
In every part of the world, the issue for Canada is how can we actually influence, in a constructive way, the turn of events.
Public diplomacy has its hazards, but the answer is not to flinch from engagement, either publicly or privately. It is not about being stubborn or self righteous, or asking the world to be just like us.
It is about building a world, step by painful step, based on law and respect for dignity. Ultimately that is where our values and our interests coincide.