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Human rights in Saudi Arabia are claimed to be based on sharia religious laws under rule of the Saudi royal family. The government of Saudi Arabia has also been criticised for its alleged oppression of religious and political minorities, homosexuality, and women. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ratified the International Convention against Torture in October 1997 according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Human rights of Saudi Arabia are specified in article 5 of the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia. The first independent human rights organization in Saudi Arabia, the National Society for Human Rights was established in 2004. In 2008, the Shura Council ratified the Arab Charter on Human Rights.

Corporal and capital punishment; right to representation

Saudi Arabia is one of a number of countries where courts continue to impose corporal punishment, including amputations of hands and feet for robbery, and flogging for lesser crimes such as "sexual deviance" and drunkenness. The number of lashes is not clearly prescribed by law and is varied according to the discretion of judges, and ranges from dozens of lashes to several hundreds, usually applied over a period of weeks or months.

In 2004, the United Nations Committee against Torture criticized Saudi Arabia over the amputations and floggings it carries out under Sharia. The Saudi delegation responded defending "legal traditions" held since the inception of Islam 1,400 years ago and rejected interference in its legal system.

Saudi Arabia also engages in capital punishment, including public executions by beheading. Beheading is the punishment for murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and armed robbers, according to strict interpretation of Islamic law. In 2005 there were 191 executions, in 2006 there were 38, in 2007 there were 153, and in 2008 there were 102.

A spokesman for Saudi Arabia's National Society for Human Rights has said that numbers of executions are rising because crime rates are rising, that prisoners are treated humanely, and that the beheadings deter crime, saying, ""Allah, our creator, knows best what's good for his people...Should we just think of and preserve the rights of the murderer and not think of the rights of others?"

Women's rights

Saudi women sometimes face discrimination in some aspects of their lives, such as the justice system. Although they make up 70% of those enrolled in universities, for social reasons women, they make up just 5% of the workforce in Saudi Arabia, the lowest proportion in the world. The treatment of women has been referred to as "Sex segregation." Implementation of a government resolution supporting expanded employment opportunities for women met resistance from within the labor ministry, from the religious police, and from the male citizenry.

In many parts of Saudi Arabia, it is believed that a woman's place is in the home caring for her husband and family. There is also segregation inside their own homes as some rooms have separate entrances for men and women.

In the legal system, women face discrimination. An example of this is the requirements for testifying in criminal proceedings; The witness must be deemed sane, and the age of an adult. Non-Muslims cannot testify in criminal court. Women cannot testify unless it is a personal matter that did not occur in the sight of men. The reasons women are forbidden to testify in proceedings are (quote):

1. Women are much more emotional than men and will, as a result of their emotions, distort their testimony.
2. Women do not participate in public life, so they will not be capable of understanding what they observe.
3. Women are dominated completely by men, who by the grace of God are deemed superior; therefore, women will give testimony according to what the last man told them.
4. Women are forgetful, and their testimony cannot be considered reliable.

Although women are legally not allowed to drive cars in Saudi Arabia, women in rural areas and other areas outside cities do drive cars. Women are allowed to fly aircraft, though they must be chauffeured to the airport.

Women's rights are at the heart of calls for reform in Saudi Arabia - calls that are challenging the kingdom's political status quo. Local and international women's groups are also pushing governments to respond, taking advantage of the fact that some rulers are eager to project a more progressive image to the West.

The presence of powerful businesswomen—still a rare breed—in some of these groups helps get them heard. Prior to 2008, women were not allowed to enter hotels and furnished apartments without a chaperon or mahram. With a 2008 Royal Decree, however, the only requirement needed to allow women to enter hotels are their national ID cards, and the hotel must inform the nearest police station of their room reservation and length of stay, however this happens with everybody staying in the hotel not just women.

Many Saudis believe that allowing women the right to drive could lead to Western-style openness and an erosion of traditional values.

According to the CIA world factbook, 70.8% of females are literate, in comparison to 84.7% literacy rates in males.

LGBT rights

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Although not uncommon and hidden, all sexual activity outside of a traditional heterosexual marriage is illegal. Punishment for homosexuality, cross-dressing, or being involved with anything that hints at the existence of an organized gay community will range from imprisonment, deportation (for foreigners), lashes, and sometimes execution.

HIV and AIDS

By law, all Saudi citizens who are infected with HIV or AIDS are entitled to free medical care, protection of their privacy and employment opportunities. Yet, most hospitals will not treat patients who are infected, and many schools and hospitals are reluctant to distribute government information about the disease, because of the strong taboos and stigma that are attached to how the virus can be spread .

Until the late 1990s, information on HIV/AIDS was not widely available to the public, but this has started to change. In the late 1990s, the government started to recognize World AIDS Day, and allowed information about the disease to be published in newspapers.. The number of people living in the kingdom who were infected was a closely guarded secret. However, in 2003 the government announced the number of known cases of HIV/AIDS in the country.

Any foreigner found to be infected with HIV, the virus which causes AIDS (or, indeed, any other serious medical condition), is deported to their country of origin. Condoms are available in hospitals and pharmacies, and in some supermarkets as well.

Political freedoms

Freedom of speech and the press are restricted to forbid criticism of the government. Trade unions and political organizations are banned. Public demonstrations are forbidden. The Saudi Government is an active censor of Internet reception within its borders.

Recently the internet has become a tool for dissent, however the arrest of prominent Saudi blogger and reformist Fouad al-Farhan has been seen as somewhat of a crackdown on online dissent. Fouad al-Farhan had been jailed in solitary confinement since December, 2007, without charges, after criticizing Saudi religious, business and media figures. He was released on April 26, 2008.

Political parties are banned, but some political dissidents were freed in the 1990s on the condition that they disband their political organizations. Only the Green Party of Saudi Arabia remains, although it is an illegal organization.

The 1990s marked a slow period of political liberalization in the kingdom as the government created a written constitution, and the advisory Consultative Council, the latter being an appointed delegation of Saudi scholars and professionals that are allowed to advise the king.

Religious freedoms

Saudi Arabia forbids missionary work by any religion other than Wahabi/Salafi Islam. Saudi religious police recently detained Shiite pilgrims participating in the Hajj, allegedly calling them "infidels in Mecca".

The U.S. State Department's 1997 Human Rights Report on Saudi Arabia states. "Islam is the official religion, and all citizens must be Muslims. The government prohibits the public practice of other religions." Under pope Benedict XVI, Vatican officials have raised the issue of Christians being forbidden from worshipping openly in Saudi Arabia.

However, at the U.N. Third Millennium Summit in New York City, Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz defended Saudi Arabia's position on human rights, saying "It is absurd to impose on an individual or a society rights that are alien to its beliefs or principles."

The Saudi government subsequently changed the language on their Web site. A Saudi government official was quoted as saying that the exclusion mentioned on the Web site was "a mistake", and stated that the kingdom would not deny visas to anyone on the basis of their religion. Israeli passport holders or holders of passports that have Israeli arrival/departure stamps are still barred. During Ramadan, eating, drinking, or smoking in public during daylight hours is not allowed. Foreign schools are often required to teach a yearly introductory segment on Islam.

See also

• LGBT rights in Saudi Arabia
• Human rights in the Middle East

References

1. Unattributed (February 28, 2005). "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2004". US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
2. First independent human rights organisation in Saudi Arabia
3. Shura Council ratifies Arab Charter on Human Rights
4. "Rights group condemns Saudi beheadings". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-10-14. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
5. . Amnesty International. Retrieved 2009-08-17. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
6. Tim Butcher. "Saudis prepare to behead teenage maid". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-10-14. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
7. Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), July 23, 2006, translated at Public Debate in Saudi Arabia on Employment Opportunities for Women
8. "Human Rights Tribune - ed. Spring 2001" (PDF). International Human Rights Documentation Network. Spring 2001. Retrieved 2007-08-21. {{cite web}}: Text "work+Human Rights Tribune" ignored (help)
9. Andrea Dworkin (1978). "A Feminist Looks at Saudi Arabia". Andrea Dworkin on nostatusquo.com. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
10. Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), May 18, 2006 translated at Public Debate in Saudi Arabia on Employment Opportunities for Women
11. Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), June 26, 2006 translated at Public Debate in Saudi Arabia on Employment Opportunities for Women
12. translated at Public Debate in Saudi Arabia on Employment Opportunities for Women
13. ^ "Women Speak Out In Saudi Arabia". CBS News. March 24, 2005. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
14. "Saudi Arabian Government and Law". 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-20. {{cite web}}: Text "Books by Jean Sasson" ignored (help)
15. "Women's transport: Solutions needed". Arab News. June 27, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
16. "Saudi Arabia gets its first woman pilot". The Hindu. 2007-01-12. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
17. "Women in the Middle East, A weak breeze of change". The Economist. February 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
18. Jomar Canlas, Reporter (January 25, 2008). "Saudi prince assures RP govt they respect rights of women". The Manila Times. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
19. "Saudi Women See a Brighter Road on Rights". The Washington Post. January 31, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
20. "CIA The World Factbook, Saudi Arabia". CIA. September 20, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-02. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
21. Manal Quota & Maryam Yamani (August 7, 2005). "AIDS? What AIDS?". Arab news. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
22. "Documentation of Internet Filtering in Saudi Arabia"
23. "No freedom for 'dean of Saudi bloggers'", by Nic Robertson and Wayne Drash, February 27, 2008, CNN
24. "Saudi official: Why popular blogger Farhan was jailed", by Caryle Murphy, Christian Science Monitor, April 28, 2008
25. "Saudi religious police accused of beating pilgrims". Middle East Online. August 7, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
26. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-492052/Pope-meets-Saudi-king-discuss-Christian-worship-Muslim-kingdom.html
27. "Saudi Arabia Bans Jewish Visitors". 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-02. {{cite web}}: Text "Jewish Virtual Library" ignored (help)
28. "Jews barred, said Saudi Web site". CNN. February 28, 2004. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
29. P.K. Abdul Ghafour (October 11, 2004). "Non-Muslims Urged to Respect Ramadan". Arab News. Retrieved 2008-06-02.

Reading List

• Laube, Lydia (2003). Behind the Veil: A Nurse's Arabian Nightmare. Eye Books. ISBN 1-903070-19-8. OCLC 51994153.
• Mitchell, Sandy Hollingsworth, Mark (2006). Saudi Babylon: Torture, Corruption and Cover-up Inside the House of Saud. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1-84596-185-4. OCLC 225546299.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Sasson, Jean (2001). Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia. Windsor-Brooke Books. ISBN 0-96767-374-7. OCLC 46766141.
• Jones, John Paul. If Olaya Street Could Talk: Saudi Arabia- The Heartland of Oil and Islam. The Taza Press (2007) ISBN 0-97904-360-3.

External links

• Review of Saudi Arabia by the United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review, February 6, 2009
• Where Saudis will send their most dangerous
• "Amnesty International - Saudi Arabia: End Secrecy, End Suffering". Archived from the original on 2007-02-02.
• "Does Saudi Arabia Preach Intolerance in the West?" (PDF).
• Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia

• Human rights in Saudi Arabia
• Saudi Arabia articles needing attention
• Saudi law
• Sexism