Saudi Arabia
Many of our
concerns associated with human rights in Saudi Arabia are societal as much as
they are governmental. The Saudi
government has, however, made some limited improvements. It has praised families who have shown
clemency by waiving their private right under Sharia law to have their
relative’s killer executed, and have encouraged women to work in occupations
previously closed to them. The
governmental Human Rights Commission promoted human rights in schools and
universities in 2010. But these changes
have not been institutionalised. The
guardianship system, under which women need permission from a male relative to
travel, work and study, remained in place.
The Saudi legal system, despite increased judicial training, failed to
provide basic standards of international justice. And the sponsorship system which governs the
employment of foreign nationals failed to provide safeguards against abuse.
We continued
our frank dialogue with Saudi Arabia about the human rights situation in
2010. Working both bilaterally and with
the EU, we encouraged progress in four priority areas: women’s rights, the
death penalty, rights of foreign workers and judicial reform. Progress on implementing the 50 recommendations
Saudi Arabia accepted during its UN Universal Periodic Review in Geneva in
February 2009 was very disappointing, despite encouragement from our Embassy in
Riyadh. The Two Kingdoms’ Dialogue, the
bilateral forum for discussing social and economic issues between the UK and
Saudi Arabia, was planned for 2010, but was postponed until 2011. Formal démarche protests were delivered
concerning custody rights for women and the case of Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan
national sentenced to death for killing a baby in her care, when she may have
been under 18 years old. Our Embassy
provided training to Saudi security forces in forensic analysis and
investigative methods, including DNA analysis, which has helped to improve the
treatment of suspects. The British
Council has trained female entrepreneurs through its Springboard training
programme.
The process
of very gradual reform is likely to continue in 2011, with further incremental
developments on women’s employment opportunities and in spreading awareness and
acceptance of human rights. An important
indicator of progress will be whether the number of executions continues to
fall. The municipal council elections
scheduled for October 2011 may allow women to vote. We will provide support to the Ministry of
Rural and Municipal Affairs as it prepares for the municipal elections and
continue to urge for the opportunity for women to participate. But the slow nature of reform will remain
frustrating for those Saudis committed to promoting human rights.
We will take
forward a range of human rights work in 2011.
We will host the Two Kingdoms’ Dialogue in London, after it was delayed
in 2010. We hope this will be an
opportunity to strengthen our dialogue on civil society issues. Our Embassy will work with the National
Family Safety Programme to develop literature and resources as it campaigns on
children’s rights in schools across the country. We are also helping to prepare training from
HM Prison Service to the Saudi prison service, which we hope to pilot in February
2011. The British Council will continue
to deliver the Springboard training programme which trains young female
entrepreneurs in the skills required to start and develop their businesses. We will also support the Shura Council in
understanding parliamentary oversight, through a visit to London and meetings
with Parliament, government departments, civil society and the media.
Elections
Saudi
Arabia’s second round of municipal elections, planned for October 2009, were
delayed for two years after the existing councils had their terms
extended. The Embassy in Riyadh
continued to offer support to the Ministry for Municipal and Rural Affairs in
preparing for these elections and encouraged the ministry to permit women to
stand for election and to vote.
Access to justice
Within the
Saudi criminal justice system, many legal safeguards, such as presumption of
innocence, access to evidence, public trials and juries, do not exist. Judges apply their own interpretation of
Sharia law. There is no codified legal
system, leading to wide variations in punishment for the same offence.
In October
2008 King Abdullah launched a major judicial reform project, which was given
further momentum with the appointment of a new minister of justice in February
2009. In 2010 new courts were built and
judicial training extended but there was no progress in developing a system of
precedent or codifying the law, and public concern remained about the length of
time trials took. In January, the Shura
Council, the appointed, all-male council which acts as a fledgling parliament,
recommended a system of public defenders to ensure legal advice for accused
parties in criminal trials. But this
recommendation was still awaiting the required approval from the Council of
Ministers by the end of 2010.
Despite some
courts trialling alternative punishments such as community service orders, the
use of corporal punishment remained widespread in 2010. In August, a court in the northern town of
Tabuk considered paralysing a man as a punishment for a fight where another man
had been paralysed. Following
international outcry and medical advice, the court eventually decided against
paralysis as a punishment in this case.
We continued
to support the Saudi Ministry of Justice in its reform efforts and also
developed links with some of the professors and students at the Higher Judicial
Institute at the Imam Mohammed University in Riyadh, where the majority of
Saudi judges study.
Death penalty
In 2010 an
estimated 26 individuals were executed, down from 67 in 2009, 97 in 2008 and
157 in 2007. The reasons for this
decrease in numbers are the cause of some debate. The King and senior princes have encouraged a
culture of clemency by meeting and praising victims’ families who have waived
their right under Islamic law to see the killer executed. But the number of crimes which retain the
death penalty is a serious concern. For
example, sorcery, drugs smuggling, homosexuality and apostasy technically carry
the death penalty, although the vast majority of those executed in 2010 were
convicted of murder. In addition the
death penalty is applied after a legal process that fails to provide basic
legal safeguards.
While the
Saudi government has encouraged a culture of forgiveness, it continued to stop
short of abolishing the death penalty or fundamentally reforming its
application. The Saudi government has
always qualified its acceptance of international treaties by saying that it
accepts them in so far as they do not contradict Sharia law. And its position on the death penalty remains
governed by its adherence to its understanding of Sharia law. There remains overwhelming public support for
the death penalty.
In 2010
Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan national sentenced to death in 2007 for the killing
of a baby in her care, had her final appeal rejected. The EU and our Embassy raised the issue with
the Saudi government. The Saudi
government argued that the case rests with the victim’s family who have a
private right under Sharia law to demand her execution. High level Saudi efforts to encourage the
family to show clemency were continuing at the end of 2010. But there remains very little debate in Saudi
society about the application of the death penalty. While maintaining our clear and principled
opposition to the death penalty in all cases, our efforts were particularly
focused on the debate around the age of legal responsibility. Under the Saudi interpretation of Sharia law,
children become legally responsible at the age of puberty. Saudi Arabia is one of five states to execute
minors. While there is almost no public
discussion of the principle of the death penalty, there is debate about
protecting children’s rights; the Shura Council has debated the issue of setting
a minimum age for marriage and there has been discussion about setting an age
of adulthood with regard to human trafficking.
By engaging in and encouraging this debate, we are working to see the
establishment of a specific age of legal responsibility.
Torture and other ill treatment
There were a
number of cases of individuals alleging mistreatment at the hands of Saudi
authorities. In counter-terrorism cases,
we assess that the Saudi policy of rehabilitation actually prevents torture and
other ill treatment, because such treatment would further radicalise
individuals and would undermine the work to convince the detainees that the
government has religious legitimacy. In
cases of petty crime and immigration offences, sporadic mistreatment still
occurs.
The Saudi
Ministry of Interior is committed to preventing torture and mistreatment, and
claims to discipline or punish officials responsible. But in 2010 no police officers were
prosecuted for mistreatment. UK training
to Saudi security forces continued to provide advanced investigative techniques
which reduce the tendency to rely on confessions.
Prisons and detention issues
Conditions in
Saudi prisons vary considerably. Some of
the detention centres for terrorist detainees are amongst the most advanced in
the world. But normal prisons and, in
particular, immigration detention centres are often old and overcrowded. The governmental Saudi Human Rights
Commission undertook an extensive programme of prison inspection in 2010.
We are
developing training and mentoring for Saudi prison officers and governors, which
we hope will be piloted in 2011, to support them in detaining prisoners in line
with international human rights standards.
Many
prisoners in Saudi Arabia can be imprisoned for months or even years as they
wait for trial. In early 2011, the
Ministry of Justice announced that 765 individuals had been convicted of
terrorism offences in the Hijri year 1431 (18 December 2009 to 6 December
2010). Many of these detainees had been
awaiting trial since the Al-Qaeda terrorist campaign of 2003–5 which targeted
government figures and foreign compounds.
In addition to lengthy detention while awaiting trial, Saudi Arabia
detains individuals whom it considers a security threat for engaging in
political activity. Former Judge
Suleiman al Reshoudi remained detained throughout 2010 despite legal challenges
to his detention, and Professor Mohammed Abdullah Abdulkareem was detained in
December after publishing an article which discussed the potential for violence
between members of the royal family. Our
Embassy monitored these cases throughout 2010 and urged the Saudi government to
respect the right to free speech.
Human rights defenders
Saudi Arabia
has no law governing the formation of NGOs.
There are two legally recognised human rights bodies: the governmental
Human Rights Commission and the government-funded, but independent, National
Society of Human Rights. The National
Society in particular was more outspoken in 2010 on a range of issues. Other human rights organisations, most
notably Human Rights First and the Association for Civil and Political Rights,
remain illegal. During its Universal
Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in February 2009, we recommended
that Saudi Arabia enact a law allowing the formation of civil society organisations. We repeated this recommendation to the governmental
Human Rights Commission in 2010.
Freedom of expression
The limits on
freedom of expression have widened significantly since King Abdullah came to
the throne. The media now reports on
issues previously considered unacceptable, such as social problems and the
performance of ministries. But limits
remain, particularly around criticism of individual members of the government
and around religion. In May, the editor
of Saudi Arabia’s most liberal newspaper Al
Watan was removed after allowing an article critical of religious practice
in Saudi Arabia to be printed. In
October, a journalist for the Al Jazeera
newspaper in Qubba was sentenced to 50 lashes for allegedly inciting unrest by
reporting protests about electricity prices.
He appealed and the case was still outstanding at the end of 2010.
Our Embassy
continued to promote greater freedom of expression through contacts with
journalists and bloggers.
Freedom of religion and belief
Saudi Arabia
forbids the public practice of religions other than Islam. Private religious observance is tolerated,
but non-Muslim religious communities live under fear of persecution if they
seek to come together to worship.
Conversion from Islam technically carries the death penalty, although no
cases were reported in 2010.
The treatment
of Shia minorities in Saudi Arabia remains of concern. The Shia of the Eastern Province and the
Ismailis of Najran face restrictions on the building of mosques and other civic
restrictions. The King’s initiative to
promote interfaith dialogue internationally has had a limited impact inside the
Kingdom.
The National
Dialogue, which was launched in 2005 with the intention of encouraging a
culture of tolerance and diversity, runs meetings across the country bringing
together those interested in specific issues.
It visited Najran in April and focused on health care. The situation in Najran continued to improve
after the appointment of a new governor in March 2009. But mosque closures in the Eastern Province
continued in 2010, particularly in Al Khobar.
In December, violence was reported between Shia and Sunni youths in
Madina.
We continue
to support King Abdullah’s interfaith dialogue initiative and have engaged with
Saudi authorities on the issue of freedom of worship.
Women’s rights
The treatment
of women in Saudi Arabia remained a very serious concern in 2010. At the root of the problem is the guardianship
system, which grants a male relative authority over every woman in his
family. The male family member can
refuse permission for the woman to study, travel or work. There is also an extensive system of
segregation which limits women’s ability to play a full part in public
life. Women, with limited exceptions,
may not work in a workplace with men.
They may not drive a car. While
the number and quality of female universities continues to rise, many subjects
are deemed inappropriate, and therefore unavailable, for women.
The Saudi
government, under the leadership of King Abdullah, has undertaken a gradual
process of reform to extend opportunities to women. This is most notable in the education sector,
where the number of female university graduates now exceeds the number of male
graduates. The year 2010 saw work start
on a very large new campus for Princess Noura University in Riyadh, which will
cater exclusively for women. Women make
up an increasing proportion of the scholarship students sent overseas to study
under the King Abdullah Scholarship Programme, with many going to UK
universities.
More limited
progress has been made at opening employment opportunities for women. In August a group of supermarkets in Jeddah
started to employ a small number of women as cashiers in its supermarkets. Despite the small number and the position of
the women in curtained-off family-only areas, the decision provoked fierce
debate in Saudi society. A religious
scholar called for a boycott of the supermarket chain involved. The new minister of labour, who had
previously been the chair of the supermarket chain’s board, was
criticised. Saudi women both supported
and condemned the change. Initially the
supermarket removed the female cashiers, but by the end of 2010 they were back
at work.
In November,
the Khadijah bint Khuwaylid centre in Jeddah organised a conference entitled
“The Reality of Women’s Participation in National Development”. Speakers included Dr Nora al Fayez, the first
woman to hold ministerial rank as deputy minister of education, and the head of
the Mecca branch of the religious police, who challenged the standard position
of the religious police regarding women working in mixed workplaces. The conference, which was attended by the
Consul General in Jeddah, was another example of government-supported attempts
to broaden the discussion of women’s participation in Saudi society. It discussed the formation of a Women’s
Ministry and allowing female sporting activity in schools. The conference sparked another fierce debate
in Saudi society with a group of 700 conservative women condemning it for what
they claimed was its Western agenda.
Despite the
Saudi government’s support for such private initiatives and for female
education, it has so far failed to remove the main institutional barriers to
women, most notably the guardianship system.
We continued to take every opportunity to urge the Saudi government to
remove the guardianship system of women, as the UK recommended at Saudi
Arabia’s UN Universal Periodic Review in February 2009. The British Council trained emerging female
entrepreneurs as part of its Springboard programme in 2010 and our Embassy
maintained strong links with institutions supporting female empowerment in the
Kingdom.
Children’s rights
In Saudi
Arabia the age of legal responsibility is puberty. This has implications for the trials of
children as adults, including for crimes which carry the death penalty. The legal age of responsibility also provides
the legal underpinning for child marriage.
Cases of child marriage are the subject of limited and often
contradictory press reporting.
In April, a
court in Buraidah was reported to have annulled the marriage of a 12-year old girl
to an 80-year-old relative. In June, the
government announced a new marriage contract which required the bride’s age to
be included, but this has not resulted in a legal age for marriage being
established. The government’s Human
Rights Commission has provided legal advice for children and families placed in
such situations, which it argues are rare.
We repeatedly
raised the issue of children’s rights in 2010.
Our Embassy encouraged the governmental Human Rights Commission to enact
our recommendation from the 2010 UN Universal Periodic Review to set an age of
legal responsibility. Our Embassy also
lobbied the Human Rights Committee in the Shura Council to expedite its
proposals to outlaw the practice of child marriage and we worked closely with
the National Family Safety Programme in setting up programmes to build
awareness of children’s rights in schools.
Minorities and other discriminated
groups
Lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender rights are entirely denied in Saudi Arabia. Homosexual acts are illegal and potentially
carry the death penalty, although no executions on these grounds were reported
in 2010. Beyond the legal restrictions,
extensive social stigma exists. Our
Embassy continued to offer discreet support to individuals.
Antisemitism
Unacceptable
statements about Jews were made in the media and by Saudi religious
figures. Our Embassy continued to
confront antisemitic statements and encouraged Saudi governmental leadership to
oppose antisemitic prejudice.
Other issues: Rights of foreign
workers
The treatment
of expatriate labour remains a very serious concern in Saudi Arabia. The national census held in April, the first
since 2004, put the number of foreign nationals in Saudi Arabia at almost 8.5
million, approximately 31% of the total population. The majority of these are low-paid workers
carrying out manual and domestic work from countries in South East Asia and the
Indian subcontinent.
At the root
of the problems faced by foreign workers in Saudi Arabia is the sponsorship
system. This makes all foreign workers
the responsibility of a Saudi company or individual. The sponsor guarantees the immigration status
and behaviour of the employee. As
international human rights organisations have demonstrated, the system is open
to extensive abuse without sufficient safeguards to protect the rights of the
workers. The legal system in particular
fails to protect basic labour rights for foreign workers.
The year 2010
saw a number of high-profile cases where domestic workers alleged violent abuse
at the hands of their employers. In
August, a Sri Lankan woman alleged to a court in Sri Lanka that her Saudi
employer had hammered 24 nails into her body, in a case which was refuted by
the employer and the Saudi government.
In November, an Indonesian woman died in Abha, allegedly after extensive
abuse from her employer. As the year
ended, a Saudi woman went on trial for the abuse of her Indonesian maid in
Madina.
The Saudi
media covered these issues more extensively than in the past, although negative
perceptions of foreign workers in the media continue. The trial of the alleged abuser in Madina was
an important step in bringing claims of abuse to court but the Saudi government
failed to make the necessary steps to reform the sponsorship system which gives
undue power to sponsors over their employees. Despite the example of Bahrain, which has
reformed its sponsorship system, proposals from the National Society of Human
Rights and discussion in the Shura Council, the system remains in place.
The UK has
raised the issues faced by foreign labour throughout 2010 with the Saudi
government, the Shura Council and the media.
In December, our Embassy in Riyadh attended a conference on the issue
organised by the governmental Human Rights Commission, which brought together
government agencies and the embassies of some of the countries who send most
workers to Saudi Arabia. Our Embassy encouraged
further work to be taken forward as a result of the conference.
