Human rights in Saudi Arabia
Encyclopedia
Human rights
in Saudi Arabia
are intended to be based on Islamic religious laws
under rule of the Saudi royal family
. The government of Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi legal system
, has been criticized for its treatment of religious and political minorities, homosexuals, apostates, 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 26 of the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia
. Recently created human rights organisations include Human Rights First Society
(2002), Association for the Protection and Defense of Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia
(2007), Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association
(2009) and the government-associated National Society for Human Rights
(2004). In 2008, the Shura Council
ratified the Arab Charter on Human Rights.
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."
. In Saudi Arabia's case this includes amputation
s 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
. The death penalty can be imposed for a wide range of offences including murder, rape, armed robbery, repeated drug use, apostasy
, adultery, witchcraft and sorcery and can be carried out by beheading with a sword, stoning
or firing squad, followed by crucifixion. 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?"
in many aspects of their lives, such as the justice system. Although they make up 70% of those enrolled in universities, for social reasons, women make up 5% of the workforce in Saudi Arabia, the lowest proportion in the world.
The treatment of women has been referred to as "sex segregation
" and "gender apartheid". 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.
The driving ban for women was unofficial until 1990 when it was introduced as official legislation after 47 Saudi women drove cars through the streets of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Even though illegal, 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 sight—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 for a woman to be allowed to enter hotels is a national ID card, 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.
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.
Saudi Arabian law does not recognize religious freedom, and the public practice of non-Muslim religions is actively prohibited. No law specifically requires citizens to be Muslims, but article 12.4 of the Naturalization Law requires that applicants attest to their religious affiliation, and article 14.1 requires that applicants to get a certificate endorsed by their local cleric. The Government has declared the Holy Quran and the Sunna (tradition) of the Prophet Muhammad to be the country’s constitution. Neither the Government nor society in general accepts the concepts of separation of religion and state, and such separation does not exist. The legal system is based on Sharia (Islamic law), with Shari'a courts basing their judgments largely on a code derived from the Quran and the Sunna. The Government permits Shi'a Muslims to use their own legal tradition to adjudicate noncriminal cases within their community.
Under Pope Benedict XVI
, Vatican
officials have raised the issue of Christians being forbidden from worshipping openly in Saudi Arabia. As an Islamic State, Saudi Arabia gives preferential treatment for Muslims. While allowing foreigners to come and work, Saudi Arabia prohibits the burial of Non-Muslims on Saudi soil 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.
Saudi religious police have detained Shi'ite pilgrims participating in the Hajj
, allegedly calling them "infidels
in Mecca". The restrictions on the Shi'a branch of Islam in the Kingdom along with the banning of displaying Jewish, Hindu and Christian symbols have been referred to as apartheid.
, are not recognized in Saudi Arabia. The criminal code treats homosexuality and cross-dressing as crimes and traditional social mores tend to view such activities as signs of decadence and immorality. The maximum punishment for "sexual deviance" is public execution, but the courts do have some discretion to use lesser punishments, including fines, lashes, imprisonment and, for foreigners, deportation. Only the underground Green Party of Saudi Arabia has expressed support for LGBT-rights within the context of their human rights platform.
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 to be 6,700, and over 10,000 in June 2008.
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.
In 2008, a prominent Saudi blog
ger and reformist Fouad al-Farhan
was jailed for posting comments online that were critical of Saudi business, religious and media figures, signifying a move by the government to step up its censorship polices of the Internet within its borders. He was released on April 26, 2008.
Online social media has increasingly come under government scrutiny for dealing with the "forbidden" topics. In 2010 a Saudi man was fined and given jail time for his sexually suggestive YouTube video production. That same year another man was also jailed and ordered to pay a fine for boasting about his sex life on television http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/10/saudi-man-arrested-for-se_n_493473.html.
D+Z, a magazine focused on development, reports that hundreds were arrested in order to limit freedom of expression. Many of these individuals were held without trial and in secret. The torture of these prisoners was also found to be prevalent.
, the latter being an appointed delegation of Saudi scholars and professionals that are allowed to advise the king. Some political dissidents were released from prison, after agreeing to disband their political parties. In 2005, adult male citizens were allowed to vote for some municipal seats, although plans for future elections, which may include adult women, have been put on hold indefinitely.
Political parties are banned, but some political dissidents were freed in the 1990s on the condition that they disband their political parties. Today, only the Green Party of Saudi Arabia remains, although it is an illegal organization. Trade unions are also banned, but the government has granted permission for Saudi citizens to form some private societies, which are allowed to do some humanitarian work within the kingdom.
Public demonstrations or any public act of dissent are forbidden. In April 2011, during the Arab Spring
, the kingdom made it a crime to publish any criticism harming the reputation of government or religious leaders, or which harms the interests of the state.
applied unsuccessfully for a governmental licence in 2002, but was allowed to function informally. In 2004, the National Society for Human Rights
, associated with the Saudi government, was created. The Association for the Protection and Defense of Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia
was created in 2007 and is also unlicensed. The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association
(ACPRA) was created in 2009. One of its co-founders, Mohammed Saleh Albejadi, was arbitrarily arrested by Mabahith
, the internal security agency, on 21 March 2011, during the 2011 Saudi Arabian protests
.
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
are intended to be based on Islamic religious laws
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
under rule of the Saudi royal family
House of Saud
The House of Saud , also called the Al Saud, is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia and one of the wealthiest and most powerful dynasties in the world. The family holds thousands of members...
. The government of Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi legal system
Legal system of Saudi Arabia
The legal system of Saudi Arabia is based on Sharia, Islamic law derived from the Qu'ran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad. The sources of Sharia also include Islamic scholarly consensus developed after Muhammad's death and analogical reasoning by Muslim judges...
, has been criticized for its treatment of religious and political minorities, homosexuals, apostates, 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 26 of the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia
Basic Law of Saudi Arabia
The Basic Law of Saudi Arabia is a constitution-like charter divided into nine chapters, consisting of 83 articles...
. Recently created human rights organisations include Human Rights First Society
Human Rights First Society
The Human Rights First Society is a Saudi Arabian human rights non-governmental organisation led by Ibrahim al-Mugaiteeb since 2002.-Founding and status:...
(2002), Association for the Protection and Defense of Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia
Association for the Protection and Defense of Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia
The Association for the Protection and Defense of Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia is a Saudi Non-governmental organization founded to provide activism for women's rights. It was founded by Wajeha al-Huwaider and Fawzia Al-Uyyouni, and grew out of a 2007 movement to gain women the right to drive...
(2007), Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association
Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association
The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association is a Saudi Arabian human rights non-governmental organisation created in 2009.-Creation:...
(2009) and the government-associated National Society for Human Rights
National Society for Human Rights
The National Society for Human Rights is a Saudi Arabian human rights organisation closely associated with the Saudi government and established on 10 March 2004, two years after the Human Rights First Society applied unsuccessfully for a licence...
(2004). In 2008, the Shura Council
Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia
The Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia also known as Majlis as-Shura or Shura Council is the formal advisory body of Saudi Arabia, which is an absolute monarchy. It cannot pass or enforce laws, a power reserved for the King. The Consultative Assembly has limited powers in government, including...
ratified the Arab Charter on Human Rights.
At the U.N. Third Millennium Summit in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, is the King of Saudi Arabia. He succeeded to the throne on 1 August 2005 upon the death of his half-brother, King Fahd. When Crown Prince, he governed Saudi Arabia as regent from 1998 to 2005...
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."
Corporal and capital punishment; right to representation
Saudi Arabia is one of approximately thirty countries in the world with judicial corporal punishmentJudicial corporal punishment
Judicial corporal punishment refers to the infliction of corporal punishment as a result of a sentence by a court of law. The punishment can be flogging, caning, birching, whipping, or strapping...
. In Saudi Arabia's case this includes amputation
Amputation
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...
s of hands and feet for robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
, and flogging for lesser crimes such as "sexual deviance" and drunkenness
Drunkenness
Alcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....
. 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
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
. 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
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
, including public executions by beheading
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
. The death penalty can be imposed for a wide range of offences including murder, rape, armed robbery, repeated drug use, apostasy
Apostasy
Apostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...
, adultery, witchcraft and sorcery and can be carried out by beheading with a sword, stoning
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...
or firing squad, followed by crucifixion. 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 face discriminationDiscrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
in many aspects of their lives, such as the justice system. Although they make up 70% of those enrolled in universities, for social reasons, women make up 5% of the workforce in Saudi Arabia, the lowest proportion in the world.
The treatment of women has been referred to as "sex segregation
Sex segregation
Sex segregation is the separation of people according to their sex.The term gender apartheid also has been applied to segregation of people by gender, implying that it is sexual discrimination...
" and "gender apartheid". 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.
The driving ban for women was unofficial until 1990 when it was introduced as official legislation after 47 Saudi women drove cars through the streets of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Even though illegal, 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 sight—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
Mahram
In Islamic sharia legal terminology, a mahram is an unmarriageable kin with whom sexual intercourse would be considered incestuous, a punishable taboo...
. With a 2008 Royal Decree, however, the only requirement for a woman to be allowed to enter hotels is a national ID card, 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.
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.
Religious freedoms
Under Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
, Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
officials have raised the issue of Christians being forbidden from worshipping openly in Saudi Arabia. As an Islamic State, Saudi Arabia gives preferential treatment for Muslims. While allowing foreigners to come and work, Saudi Arabia prohibits the burial of Non-Muslims on Saudi soil During Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
, 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.
Saudi religious police have detained Shi'ite pilgrims participating in the Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
, allegedly calling them "infidels
Kafir
Kafir is an Arabic term used in a Islamic doctrinal sense, usually translated as "unbeliever" or "disbeliever"...
in Mecca". The restrictions on the Shi'a branch of Islam in the Kingdom along with the banning of displaying Jewish, Hindu and Christian symbols have been referred to as apartheid.
LGBT rights
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, collectively referred to as LGBTLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
, are not recognized in Saudi Arabia. The criminal code treats homosexuality and cross-dressing as crimes and traditional social mores tend to view such activities as signs of decadence and immorality. The maximum punishment for "sexual deviance" is public execution, but the courts do have some discretion to use lesser punishments, including fines, lashes, imprisonment and, for foreigners, deportation. Only the underground Green Party of Saudi Arabia has expressed support for LGBT-rights within the context of their human rights platform.
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
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
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
World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day, observed December 1 every year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. Government and health officials observe the day, often with speeches or forums on the AIDS topics. Since 1995, the President of the United States has made an...
, 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 to be 6,700, and over 10,000 in June 2008.
Any foreigner found to be infected with HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
, the virus which causes AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
(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.
Freedom of press and communication
Freedom of speech, the press and other forms of communicative media, including television and radio broadcasting and Internet reception, are actively censored by the government to prevent political dissident and anything deemed, by the government, to be offensive to the Arab culture or Islamic morality.In 2008, a prominent Saudi blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger and reformist Fouad al-Farhan
Fouad al-Farhan
Fouad Ahmad Alfarhan is a popular Saudi Arabian blogger and political commentator noted for his advocacy of political reforms on his blog. Farhan is unusual among Saudi Arabian bloggers because he uses his real name rather than blogging under a pseudonym. Farhan had stopped blogging for a period...
was jailed for posting comments online that were critical of Saudi business, religious and media figures, signifying a move by the government to step up its censorship polices of the Internet within its borders. He was released on April 26, 2008.
Online social media has increasingly come under government scrutiny for dealing with the "forbidden" topics. In 2010 a Saudi man was fined and given jail time for his sexually suggestive YouTube video production. That same year another man was also jailed and ordered to pay a fine for boasting about his sex life on television http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/10/saudi-man-arrested-for-se_n_493473.html.
D+Z, a magazine focused on development, reports that hundreds were arrested in order to limit freedom of expression. Many of these individuals were held without trial and in secret. The torture of these prisoners was also found to be prevalent.
Political freedom
The 1990s marked a slow period of political liberalization in the kingdom as the government created a written constitution, and the advisory Consultative CouncilConsultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia
The Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia also known as Majlis as-Shura or Shura Council is the formal advisory body of Saudi Arabia, which is an absolute monarchy. It cannot pass or enforce laws, a power reserved for the King. The Consultative Assembly has limited powers in government, including...
, the latter being an appointed delegation of Saudi scholars and professionals that are allowed to advise the king. Some political dissidents were released from prison, after agreeing to disband their political parties. In 2005, adult male citizens were allowed to vote for some municipal seats, although plans for future elections, which may include adult women, have been put on hold indefinitely.
Political parties are banned, but some political dissidents were freed in the 1990s on the condition that they disband their political parties. Today, only the Green Party of Saudi Arabia remains, although it is an illegal organization. Trade unions are also banned, but the government has granted permission for Saudi citizens to form some private societies, which are allowed to do some humanitarian work within the kingdom.
Public demonstrations or any public act of dissent are forbidden. In April 2011, during the Arab Spring
Arab Spring
The Arab Spring , otherwise known as the Arab Awakening, is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on Saturday, 18 December 2010...
, the kingdom made it a crime to publish any criticism harming the reputation of government or religious leaders, or which harms the interests of the state.
Human rights organizations
The Human Rights First SocietyHuman Rights First Society
The Human Rights First Society is a Saudi Arabian human rights non-governmental organisation led by Ibrahim al-Mugaiteeb since 2002.-Founding and status:...
applied unsuccessfully for a governmental licence in 2002, but was allowed to function informally. In 2004, the National Society for Human Rights
National Society for Human Rights
The National Society for Human Rights is a Saudi Arabian human rights organisation closely associated with the Saudi government and established on 10 March 2004, two years after the Human Rights First Society applied unsuccessfully for a licence...
, associated with the Saudi government, was created. The Association for the Protection and Defense of Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia
Association for the Protection and Defense of Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia
The Association for the Protection and Defense of Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia is a Saudi Non-governmental organization founded to provide activism for women's rights. It was founded by Wajeha al-Huwaider and Fawzia Al-Uyyouni, and grew out of a 2007 movement to gain women the right to drive...
was created in 2007 and is also unlicensed. The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association
Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association
The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association is a Saudi Arabian human rights non-governmental organisation created in 2009.-Creation:...
(ACPRA) was created in 2009. One of its co-founders, Mohammed Saleh Albejadi, was arbitrarily arrested by Mabahith
Mabahith
The Mabahith , also spelled Mabaheth, is the secret police agency of the Ministry of Interior in Saudi Arabia.According to Human Rights Watch, the Mabahith "monitors suspected political opponents and others, targets individuals for arrest, and interrogates detainees...
, the internal security agency, on 21 March 2011, during the 2011 Saudi Arabian protests
2011 Saudi Arabian protests
The 2011 Saudi Arabian protests have been influenced by the Arab Spring that started with the 2011 Tunisian revolution. One of the main online organisers of a planned 11 March "Day of Rage", Faisal Ahmed Abdul-Ahad , was alleged to have been killed by Saudi security forces on 2 March, by which time...
.
See also
- Legal system of Saudi ArabiaLegal system of Saudi ArabiaThe legal system of Saudi Arabia is based on Sharia, Islamic law derived from the Qu'ran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad. The sources of Sharia also include Islamic scholarly consensus developed after Muhammad's death and analogical reasoning by Muslim judges...
- LGBT rights in Saudi Arabia
- Human rights in the Middle EastHuman Rights in the Middle EastHuman rights in the Middle East are mostly covered in individual articles, listed below. -United States and European points of view on political rights:...
- Shi'a Islam in Saudi Arabia
External links
- Review of Saudi Arabia by the United Nations Human Rights CouncilUnited Nations Human Rights CouncilThe United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...
's Universal Periodic Review, February 6, 2009 - Where Saudis will send their most dangerous
- Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia