Saudi Arabia: Authorities Must Commit To Human Rights

Saudi Arabia continues to widely violate fundamental human rights both inside and beyond of its borders, despite having endorsed several recommendations during its most recent Universal Periodic Review. The Saudi government has made significant reform announcements, such as those pertaining to women’s rights, but these initiatives are still insufficient, and advancement is hampered by the government’s long-standing and continuous suppression of independent civil society and dissenting opinions. 

Dissidents and human rights advocates are imprisoned or put on trial for their nonviolent criticism. However, there are several abuses in Saudi Arabia’s criminal justice system, including as lengthy periods of incarceration without accusation or trial, lack of access to legal counsel, and the use of confessions contaminated by torture by courts as the only foundation for convictions. Numerous men and women have been jailed by Saudi authorities for peacefully calling for change and expressing their right to free expression since the country’s last UPR.

UN Human Rights Council Review

High-ranking officials were not held responsible by the authorities for the 2018 murder of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi. Reputation laundering is a tactic used by Saudi Arabia to hide its dismal human rights record. Since 2015, hundreds of civilians have been killed and injured by Saudi Arabia’s bombings in Yemen, a country that persistently violates international humanitarian law. Human Rights Watch has recorded scores of illegal assaults in Yemen since March 2015, some of which may have been war crimes, carried out by the military coalition led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. 

Numerous citizens have been killed, injured, and vital civilian infrastructure has been damaged as a result of these strikes. Despite the fact that the great majority of people require humanitarian help, the coalition has restricted access to vital life-saving supplies and humanitarian relief. During its prior Universal Periodic Review, Saudi Arabia endorsed the proposal to preserve due process and prevent misuse of the law enforcement apparatus. 

Freedom of Expression

Together with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia successfully persuaded Human Rights Council members to revoke the authority of the UN Group of Eminent Experts, an unbiased, multinational organization that reported on human rights breaches in Yemen in October 2021. The Yemen Data Project reports that in the months that followed the body’s dissolution, the number of airstrikes rose by 43%. The Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT), the coalition’s investigative arm, is still unable to conduct a reliable investigation into coalition infractions. Schools, hospitals, and water and food infrastructure are among the civilian targets that the coalition struck; however, it appears that the alliance has not carried out any airstrikes since March 2022, just before the commencement of a UN-backed ceasefire. No coalition state, including Saudi Arabia, has offered victims’ compensation or established a meaningful system of responsibility for its misdeeds.

Women’s Rights

Numerous human rights advocates and defenders are incarcerated for extended periods of time for questioning the authority or pushing for political and legal changes. Due to their purported offenses, several of these detainees including women were given sentences that would last for decades based only on their nonviolent social media activities. Salma al-Shehab, a Saudi doctorate student, was sentenced to 34 years in prison in August 2022 by a Saudi appeals court, based only on her Twitter behavior. 

The Specialized Criminal Court re-sentenced her in January 2023 to 27 years in jail and a 27-year travel restriction. Religious leaders, academics, human rights advocates, and political dissidents are still being singled out by Saudi authorities, who also arbitrarily imprison, torture, and otherwise mistreat them. After serving 1,001 days in jail, prominent Saudi advocate for women’s rights Loujain al-Hathloul was freed from prison in February 2021. Travel restrictions still apply to her, and she faces a nearly three-year suspended sentence for allegations that, according to Saudi Arabia’s terrorist laws, constitute offenses related to her advocacy for women’s rights.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Mohamad al-Bokari, a Yemeni blogger, was condemned by a Saudi court to two years in prison and deportation to Yemen for a social media post that advocated for equal rights for all, including gay individuals, in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia routinely discriminates against Muslim religious minorities, particularly Twelver Shia and Ismailis, in public education, the legal system, religious freedom, and the workplace. It also forbids followers of other religions from worshiping in public. According to a Human Rights Watch assessment published in 2021, various acts connected to Shia and Sufi Islamic traditions are still branded as forbidden and un-Islamic in school textbooks published by the Education Ministry.