## Human Rights Reports 2006

Introduction to the 2006 Human Rights Reports\
\
\
These 196 reports describe the performance of governments in putting
into practice their international commitments on human rights. These
fundamental rights, reflected in the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, constitute what President Bush calls the
"non-negotiable demands of human dignity". As Secretary Rice has said,
the full promise of the UN Universal Declaration cannot be realized
overnight, but it is urgent work that cannot be delayed.\
\
The Universal Declaration calls upon "every individual and every organ
of society ... to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by
progressive measures, national and international, to secure their
universal and effective recognition and observance..."\
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For our part, the United States takes our human rights commitments
seriously. We recognize that we are writing this report at a time when
our own record, and actions we have taken to respond to the terrorist
attacks against us, have been questioned. The United States will
continue to respond forthrightly to the good faith concerns of others,
including by means of the reports we submit periodically in accordance
with our obligations under various human rights treaties to which we are
a party. We are also committed to continual improvement. US laws,
policies and practices governing the detention, treatment, and trial of
terrorist suspects have evolved considerably over the last five years.
Our democratic system of government is not infallible, but it is
accountable \-- our robust civil society, our vibrant free media, our
independent branches of government and a well established rule of law
work as correctives.\
\
The congressionally mandated country reports on human rights practices
that follow are an essential element of the United States' effort to
promote respect for human rights worldwide. For three decades, these
annual reports have been used widely here and abroad as a reference
document for assessing the progress made and the challenges that remain.
They also have served as a foundation for cooperative action among
governments, organizations and individuals seeking to end abuses and
strengthen the capacity of countries to protect the fundamental rights
of all.\
\
The reports review each country's performance in 2006. Each report
speaks for itself. Yet, broad patterns are discernible and are described
below, supported by country-specific examples. The examples we cite are
illustrative, not exhaustive.\
\
Hopeful Trends, Yet Sobering Realities\
\
As a review of these reports shows, across the globe in 2006, men and
women continued to press for their rights to be respected and their
governments to be responsive, for their voices to be heard and their
votes to count, for just laws and justice for all. There also was a
growing recognition that democracy is the form of government that can
best meet the demands of citizens for dignity, liberty, and equality.
These are hopeful trends indeed, yet the reports also reflect sobering
realities:\
\
First, the advances made in human rights and democracy were hard won and
challenging to sustain. While some countries made significant progress,
some lagged and others regressed.\
\
As the range of examples below demonstrates, the performance of
countries varied greatly, depending on factors such as the degree of
governmental commitment, institutional capacity, the extent of
corruption, and the strength of civil society.\
\
In January 2006 Liberia's democratically elected Unity Party government,
led by Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the first female head of state in Africa,
replaced the National Transitional Government of Liberia which had
served as the interim government since the end of a ruinous 14-year
civil war in 2003. The government took significant steps to correct past
human rights deficiencies, including working with international partners
to rehabilitate the country\'s justice sector and establishing a public
defender\'s office in the capital. The president dismissed or suspended
a number of corrupt government officials. The Truth and Reconciliation
Commission, established in 2005 to investigate human rights violations
and war crimes committed during the civil war, began taking statements
from witnesses. Despite this progress, Liberia continued to face serious
human rights challenges, including a still weak judiciary, official
corruption and impunity, gender-based violence, and extreme poverty that
led to child labor.\
\
Substantial reductions in killings by the armed forces and the police in
politically sensitive areas of Indonesia continued during the year.
Fifty-four generally free and fair elections were held at the
provincial, regency, district and municipal levels, most notably in
December in Aceh, where a former rebel field commander won the
governorship. Although inter-communal religious violence generally
abated, it nonetheless persisted in some areas. The government and the
courts were unable to confront past human rights abuses and atrocities
both in Indonesia and in East Timor.\
\
Morocco\'s human rights record showed notable progress, although
problems remained. The government began to address past human rights
abuses by providing compensation through the Consultative Council on
Human Rights for specific cases of arrest, disappearance and abuse
during the period between 1956 and 1999. In March the government enacted
an anti-torture law, although reports of torture by various branches of
the security forces persisted. There was extensive and largely open
debate in public and in the press, despite continuing restrictions on
freedom of the press and speech. During the year, the government
punished some journalists who violated limitations on free speech, and
many journalists practiced self-censorship. Trafficking in persons,
particularly for sexual exploitation, and child labor remained issues of
concern; however, both the government and civil society were
increasingly active in addressing them.\
\
The Democratic Republic of the Congo held its first democratic
presidential and legislative elections in more than 45 years, putting an
end to a three-year post-civil war transitional period. A new
constitution went into force. Yet, the human rights record remained
poor. In addition to simmering conflict in the East, where government
control remained weak and armed groups continued to commit serious
abuses, government security forces across the country also committed
serious abuses with impunity.\
\
In Haiti, citizens demonstrated their commitment to democracy by going
to the polls three times in 2006. More than 3.5 million citizens
registered to vote and an impressive turnout estimated at more than 70
percent of registered voters participated in the first round of
presidential and parliamentary elections in February. After a relatively
stable and violence-free election process, voters selected President
Rene Preval and filled 129 parliamentary seats. In December, Haiti held
its first municipal elections in more than a decade. Yet much remains to
be done to restore fully the rule of law, including an overhaul of
Haiti's dysfunctional judicial system and the continued retraining and
vetting of the Haitian National Police.\
\
In Ukraine, notable post-Orange Revolution progress in human rights
performance continued to be made. The March 2006 parliamentary elections
were the freest in 15 years of independence. The country continued to
make improvements in press freedom, freedom of association, and the
development of civil society. Despite these gains, a number of serious
problems remained, including corruption in all branches of government.\
\
Although Kyrgyzstan's human rights record had improved considerably
following the change to democratically elected leadership in 2005,
during 2006 a week of mass yet peaceful protests culminated in the hasty
adoption of an amended constitution which offered the possibility for
genuine checks and balances. At the end of December, however, parliament
passed another constitution negating many key checks and balances. The
government also harassed foreign-funded nongovernmental organizations.\
\
Despite President Musharraf's stated commitment to democratic transition
and "enlightened moderation", Pakistan's human rights record continued
to be poor. Restrictions remained on freedom of movement, expression,
association and religion. Disappearances of provincial activists and
political opponents continued, especially in provinces experiencing
internal turmoil and insurgencies. The security forces continued to
commit extrajudicial killings. Arbitrary arrest and torture remained
common. Corruption was pervasive throughout the government and police
forces. On a positive note, in December, the National Assembly passed
and President Musharraf signed the Women's Protection Bill -- marking
the first time in three decades that a Pakistan government successfully
rolled back laws detrimental to women's rights. The law amends the 1979
rape and adultery provision of the Hudood Ordinance by transferring the
offense of rape from Pakistan Sharia law to the Pakistan Penal Code. The
law also eliminates the requirement for rape victims to present four
male witnesses to press charges.\
\
Though Egypt held a first-ever, multi-party presidential election in
2005, in 2006 public calls for greater democratization and
accountability sometimes met with strong government reaction. The
continued imprisonment of former presidential candidate Ayman Nour
raised serious concerns about the path of political reform and democracy
in the country. Continuing a trend begun in 2005, the government
arrested and detained hundreds of activists affiliated with the
banned-but-tolerated Muslim Brotherhood, generally for periods lasting
several weeks. Two senior judges were brought in for questioning in
February for publicly calling for an independent judiciary. Egyptian
police arrested and detained over 500 activists for participating in
demonstrations in support of judicial independence. In addition, severe
cases of torture by authorities were documented. The government also
arrested, detained and abused several Internet bloggers.\
\
In Kazakhstan, the government restricted the functioning of the
political opposition by enforcing onerous registration requirements, and
hindering or denying political party registration. The merging of
progovernment parties consolidated the firm leadership of President
Nazarbayev's Otan Party and left less political space to express
alternative views and advocate for reform. The government harassed the
political opposition via politically motivated charges and restrictions
on freedom of assembly, passed laws restricting press freedom and
harassed NGOs.\
\
Russia experienced continuing centralization of power in the executive
branch, including amendments to election laws and new legislation for
political parties that grants the government broad powers to regulate,
investigate, limit and even close down parties. Taken together with a
compliant State Duma, corruption and selectivity in law enforcement,
political pressure on the judiciary, and restrictions on the NGOs and
the media, these trends resulted in the further erosion of government
accountability. In Chechnya and other areas of the North Caucasus,
serious human rights violations continued, including unlawful killings
and abuses of civilians by both federal and Chechen Republic security
forces. Rebel fighters committed terrorist bombings and politically
motivated disappearances in the region. In a growing number of cases,
the European Court of Human Rights held Russia responsible for these
abuses.\
\
In Venezuela, the Chavez government continued to consolidate power in
the executive branch. The government continued to harass the opposition
and NGOs, and to weaken judicial independence. International observers
judged generally free and fair the December presidential elections, in
which President Chavez won re-election with 63 percent of the vote. In
his inaugural address, President Chavez asked the National Assembly, in
which his parties control 100 percent of the seats, to grant him power
to rule by executive decree.\
\
In Fiji and Thailand, militaries overthrew democratically elected
governments.\
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A second sobering reality is that insecurity due to internal and/or
cross-border conflict can threaten or thwart advancements in human
rights and democratic government.\
\
Despite the Iraqi government's continuing commitment to foster national
reconciliation and reconstruction, keep to an electoral course and
establish the rule of law, both deepening sectarian violence and acts of
terrorism seriously undercut human rights and democratic progress during
2006. Although the Iraqi constitution and law provide a strong framework
for the protection of human rights, armed groups attacked human rights
from two different directions: those proclaiming their hostility to the
government -- Al-Qa'ida terrorists, irreconcilable remnants of the
Ba'athist regime, and insurgents waging guerrilla warfare; and members
of Shi'a militias and individual ministries' security forces --
nominally allied with the government -- who committed torture and other
abuses.\
\
Although Afghanistan made important human rights progress since the fall
of the Taliban in 2001, its human rights record remained poor. This was
mainly due to weak central institutions and a deadly insurgency: the
Taliban, Al-Qa'ida and other extremist groups stepped up attacks against
government officials, security forces, NGOs and other aid personnel and
unarmed civilians; and, the number of suicide bombings rose dramatically
during the year, as did attacks on schools and teachers. There were
continued reports of cases of arbitrary arrests and detention,
extrajudicial killings, torture, and poor prison conditions. In
December, President Karzai launched a Transitional Justice Action Plan
designed to address past violations of human rights and improve the
institutional capacity of the justice system.\
\
Lebanon's significant steps toward reform following the 2005
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and the subsequent
withdrawal of Syrian troops after nearly three decades of occupation
have been hampered since the July-August 2006 conflict between Hizballah
and Israel. Before the conflict, the Lebanese government had started to
remove many of the obstacles that barred political associations and
parties. After Hizballah entered Israel from Lebanese territory and
kidnapped and killed several Israeli soldiers, Israeli military forces
responded by entering Lebanese territory. The conflict ended with a
UN-sponsored cessation of hostilities. Despite the cessation of
hostilities and the deployment of the Lebanon Armed Forces and UN
Interim Forces in the south, Lebanese militias and Hizballah retained
significant influence over parts of the country.\
\
In East Timor, a series of deadly clashes between the national defense
force and a variety of dissident military, police, and civilian forces
led to widespread mob and gang violence in the capital. At the request
of the government, forces from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and
Portugal assumed responsibility for security in the capital. On August
25, the UN Integrated Mission for East Timor took over policing
responsibilities. This internal conflict resulted in the displacement of
approximately 150,000 people, more than 15 percent of the country's
population.\
\
Third, despite gains for human rights and democratic principles in every
region of the world, much of humanity still lives in fear yet dreams of
freedom.\
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Countries in which power remained concentrated in the hands of
unaccountable rulers -- whether totalitarian or authoritarian --
continued to be the world's most systematic human rights violators.\
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In 2006, North Korea remained one of the world's most isolated and
repressive regimes. The regime controls almost all aspects of citizens'
lives, denying freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association, and
restricts freedom of movement and worker rights. The constitution
provides for \"freedom of religious belief,\" but genuine religious
freedom does not exist. An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people,
including political prisoners, were held in detention camps, and many
prisoners died from torture, starvation, disease, and exposure.\
\
The military government in Burma extensively used executions, rape,
torture, arbitrary detention and forced relocation of entire villages,
particularly of ethnic minorities, to maintain its grip on power.
Prisoners and detainees were subjected to abuse and held in harsh,
life-threatening conditions. Surveillance, harassment, and imprisonment
of political activists continued; Nobel Laureate and opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi remained incommunicado under house arrest, and over
1,100 political prisoners languished in prison. The use of forced labor,
trafficking in persons, conscription of child soldiers and religious
discrimination remained widespread. The government reconvened the sham
National Convention, handpicking delegates and prohibiting free debate.
Touted as part of a "democracy road map", the convention was designed to
nullify the results of the 1990 election and adopt a new,
regime-friendly constitution. The regime's cruel and destructive misrule
also resulted in refugee outflows, the spread of infectious diseases and
the trafficking of drugs and human beings into neighboring countries.\
\
The Iranian government flagrantly violated freedom of speech and
assembly, intensifying its crackdown against dissidents, journalists and
reformers -- a crackdown characterized by arbitrary arrests and
detentions, torture, disappearances, the use of excessive force and the
widespread denial of fair public trials. The government continued to
detain and abuse Baha'is and other religious minorities and hosted a
widely condemned conference denying the existence of the Holocaust. In
the lead-up to the December 15 Assembly of Experts elections in Iran,
more than two-thirds of those who had applied to run -- including all
female candidates -- were disqualified, leaving many seats uncontested.
Hundreds of candidates in nationwide municipal elections also were
disqualified. The government continued to flout domestic and
international calls for responsible government in 2006 by supporting
terrorist movements in Syria and Lebanon as well as calling for the
destruction of a UN member state.\
\
In Zimbabwe, the Mugabe government continued across-the-board violations
of human rights. Official corruption and impunity were widespread. The
2002 Official Secrets Act and Public Order and Security Act remained in
effect, severely restricting civil liberties. In the 2006 parliamentary
by-elections and rural district council elections, the government\'s
manipulation of the electoral process disenfranchised voters and skewed
elections in favor of ruling party candidates. The ruling party's
dominance permitted constitutional changes without wide consultation.
Security forces harrassed, beat and arbitrarily arrested critics and
opposition supporters. Disruptions at farms and seizures of property
continued and were sometimes violent. The campaign of forced evictions,
which left 700,000 people homeless during Operation Restore Order in
2005, continued on a lesser scale. The government interfered with
humanitarian organizations\' efforts to provide assistance. In December
Mugabe and his loyalists proposed extending his term for two years by
deferring presidential elections to 2010.\
\
In Cuba, the government, temporarily headed by Raul Castro due to Fidel
Castro\'s illness, continued to violate virtually all the rights of its
citizens, including the fundamental right to change their government
peacefully or criticize the revolution or its leaders. In 2006, the
government increased its harassment of dissidents and other citizens
viewed as threats to the government, often through mob actions called
\"acts of repudiation\" involving verbal abuse and physical attacks.
Beatings and abuse of detainees and prisoners also were carried out with
impunity. Although token releases of prisoners occurred during the year,
at least 283 political prisoners and detainees were held at year's end,
including 59 of 75 prodemocracy and human rights activists imprisoned in
a March 2003 crackdown.\
\
The Chinese government's human rights record deteriorated in some areas
in 2006. There was an increased number of high-profile cases involving
the monitoring, harassment, detention and imprisonment of political and
religious activists, journalists and writers as well as defense lawyers
seeking to exercise their rights under the law. Some of their family
members also were harassed and detained. Large numbers of mass
demonstrations and protests calling for redress of grievances continued
and in some cases were violently suppressed. New government controls
were imposed on NGOs, the media, including the Internet, and courts and
judges. Repression of unregistered religious groups and of minority
groups, in particular Uighurs and Tibetans, remained a serious concern.\
\
In Belarus, the Lukashenko government continued and intensified its
repressive policies. The March presidential election was severely
flawed. Up to 1,000 people were arrested in an ensuing crackdown on
public protests against the results and many were sentenced to short
jail terms. More activists and opposition members, including Aleksander
Kozulin, who ran against Lukashenko in the presidential race, were
sentenced to jail terms ranging from 2 to 5 ½ years.\
\
The Eritrean government continued to be one of the most repressive in
Sub-Saharan Africa, and its human rights record worsened in 2006.
Government security forces committed extrajudicial killings; there were
credible reports that security forces shot on sight individuals trying
to cross the border into Ethiopia. The government escalated its campaign
of arresting national service evaders as well as their relatives and
there also were credible reports indicating that some of those arrested
were tortured. As it did in 2005, the government ordered several
international humanitarian NGOs to leave the country, despite a severe
drought in the Horn of Africa. There were continued severe restrictions
on religious freedom.\
\
The fourth sobering reality is that as the worldwide push for greater
personal and political freedom grows stronger, it is being met with
increasing resistance from those who feel threatened by political and
societal change.\
\
Human rights defenders and nongovernmental organizations are essential
to a nation's success. In today's world, the problems confronting states
are too complex even for the most powerful to tackle alone. The
contributions of civil society and the free flow of ideas and
information are crucial in addressing a host of domestic and
international challenges. Restricting the political space of NGOs and
public debate only limits a society's own growth.\
\
In every region of the globe in 2006, there were governments that
responded to the growing demands for personal and political freedom not
by accepting their obligations to their people, but by oppressing those
who advocated for human rights and exposed abuses, such as
nongovernmental organizations and independent media, including the
Internet. A disturbing number of countries passed or selectively applied
laws and regulations against NGOs and journalists. NGOs and journalists
also were subjected to extralegal measures, often by unknown assailants.
For example:\
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In Russia in 2006, a new NGO law entered into force in April imposing
more stringent registration requirements for NGOs, strict monitoring of
organizations, extensive and onerous reporting requirements on
programming and activities, and empowering the Federal Registration
Service to deny registration or to shut down an organization based on
vague and subjective criteria. Freedom of expression and media
independence declined due to government pressure and restrictions. In
October, unknown persons murdered human rights defender Anna
Politkovskaya, a prominent journalist known for her critical writing on
human rights abuses in Chechnya. The government used its controlling
ownership of all national television and radio stations, as well as of
the majority of influential regional ones, to restrict access to
information deemed sensitive.\
\
In Belarus, onerous tax inspections and NGO registration requirements
made it difficult for civil society organizations to operate, and
attacks against members of the independent media continued. In November,
prodemocracy activist Dmitriy Dashkevich was sentenced to 18 months in
prison for operating an unregistered NGO.\
\
The government of Kazakhstan registered the opposition True Ak Zhol
party after one of its co-chairmen, Sarsenbaiuly, was murdered and
restrictively interpreted Article 5 of the constitution to suspend
foreign-funded, nonpartisan political party training activities,
asserting that providing information is tantamount to financing
political parties. In July President Nazarbayev signed into law
restrictive media amendments deemed a step backwards by the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Freedom of Media
Representative. The government continued to use restrictive libel laws
to fine, convict, and suspend media outlets, journalists, and critics.
In April a member of a suspended media outlet was brutally beaten.\
\
Freedom of expression, association and assembly are tightly restricted
in Turkmenistan, and the government sought to control all NGO activity.
Foreign-origin satellite television is accessible throughout the
country, but the government controlled all domestic media, and local
journalists were prohibited from all contact with foreigners unless
specifically permitted. Very limited Internet access was provided
through government-owned Turkmen Telecom; no new accounts were allowed
in the capital since September 2002. In August the government arrested
journalists Ogulspapar Myradova, Annakurban Amanklichev, and Sapardurdy
Hajiyev and sentenced them to six to seven years of imprisonment for
weapons possession in a closed, summary trial. In September Myradova, a
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent, died in prison under
suspicious circumstances. NGOs have reported that she and her two
colleagues were tortured during detention in the summer to extract
confessions of weapons possession. On December 21, President Saparmurat
Niyazov died.\
\
The Government of Uzbekistan sought to control most NGO activity and
closed down over 200 civil society organizations, including
international NGOs operating in the country, citing alleged violations
of the law. Independent journalists and human rights activists continued
to be persecuted.\
\
The Syrian government strictly controlled the dissemination of
information and prohibited criticism of the government and discussion of
sectarian issues, including religious and minority rights. There were
detentions and beatings for individual expressions of opinion that
violated these restrictions, for example the February arrest of
journalist Adel Mahfouz after he called for interfaith dialogue
following the controversy surrounding the depiction of the Prophet
Muhammed in cartoons. The government relied on its press and publication
laws, the penal code and the Emergency Law to censor access to the
Internet, and it restricted electronic media. Harassment of domestic
human rights activists also occurred, including regular close
surveillance and the imposition of travel bans when they sought to
attend workshops and conferences outside the country.\
\
Press freedom was at an all-time low in Iran, as the government closed
independent newspapers Shargh and Iran, blocked access to Internet news
sites -- including the New York Times and BBC Farsi -- and jailed
journalists and bloggers. The authorities used bans against leaving the
country as a weapon against journalists.\
\
In Burundi, there was an increase in the arrest, detention, and
intimidation of journalists and human rights activists by the
government; among many other individuals, police arrested and detained
for several months the president of the country\'s leading
anticorruption NGO. A governor of one province reportedly called the
country\'s leading human rights NGO, League Iteka, an enemy of peace,
and in November a government official announced that 32 registered
international NGOs in the country could face expulsion for failure to
submit mandatory annual reports to the government.\
\
In Rwanda, there was a restrictive atmosphere for the functioning of
civil society. Domestic and international NGOs are required by law to
register each year and to provide reports to the government on their
activities. Authorities reportedly required some NGOs to obtain
government authorization for some projects before being allowed to
access international donor funds. In addition, all NGOs were expected to
join a collective intended to manage their activities.\
\
The Venezuelan government continued to harass and intimidate civil
society groups, most notably the leaders of the electoral watchdog NGO
Sumate, whose trial for conspiracy and treason for accepting a foreign
grant was indefinitely postponed, but continues to hang over their
heads. At year\'s end, a draft law was under consideration in the
National Assembly which, if implemented, would increase government
control over NGOs\' financing and restrict NGOs from working in the
areas of human rights or democracy promotion. Amendments to the penal
code that impose prison sentences for insulting public officials and
violent attacks on journalists contributed to a climate of
self-censorship. The government stepped up its harassment of independent
and opposition news outlets. In December President Chavez announced that
the government would not renew the broadcast license of Radio Caracas
Television, the country\'s oldest commercial television network. The
government accused the network owners of being \"coup-mongers\" and of
violating the public trust.\
\
In China, NGOs, both domestic and international, continued to face
increased scrutiny and restrictions. By the end of 2006, Reporters
without Borders reported that 31 journalists and 52 Internet writers
were in jail. While the government encouraged use of the Internet, it
also took steps to monitor its use, control content, restrict
information, and punish those who violated regulations. The government
imposed stricter website registration requirements, enhanced official
control of online content, and expanded the definition of illegal online
content. The government consistently blocked access to sites it deemed
controversial, and the authorities reportedly began to employ more
sophisticated technology enabling the selective blocking of specific
content rather than entire websites.\
\
Vietnam continued to monitor and restrict the Internet, blocking
international human rights and news websites. Laws allow citizens to
complain openly about inefficient government and corruption but the
government continued to prohibit the press from drafting articles that
questioned the role of the Communist Party, promoted pluralism or
multiparty democracy, or questioned human rights policy. The government
forbids direct access to the Internet through Independent Service
Providers and requires cybercafé owners to register the personal
information of their customers and the sites visited. The government
released several high-profile political and religious dissidents,
including Dr. Pham Hong Son, who was imprisoned for translating articles
on democracy and disseminating them over the Internet.\
\
Genocide was the most sobering reality of all.\
\
Almost 60 years after the adoption of the UN Universal Declaration of
Human Rights -- an expression of the outraged conscience of mankind to
the enormity of the Holocaust and the cataclysm of the Second World War
-- genocide continued to ravage the Darfur region of Sudan.\
\
Despite the January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement ending the
22-year civil war between the North and South, and the establishment of
a unity government that year, ethnic conflict continued in Sudan, most
catastrophically in Darfur. The Sudanese government and
government-backed janjaweed militia bear responsibility for the genocide
in Darfur, and all parties to the conflagration committed serious
abuses, including the widespread killing of civilians, rape as a tool of
war, systematic torture, robbery and recruitment of child soldiers. By
the end of 2006, the Darfur conflict had resulted in at least 200,000
civilian deaths and two million displaced by the fighting, over 234,000
refugees had fled to neighboring Chad, and both Chad and the Central
African Republic experienced violent ethnic conflict along their borders
with Sudan.\
\
In spite of indicating its support for the Addis Ababa framework, the
Sudanese government has publicly rejected international forces for
Darfur and renewed its military offensive during the latter half of
2006. The deteriorating security conditions forced some international
NGOs and humanitarian organizations to scale back or suspend
operations.\
\
Defend the Defenders\
\
If the great promise of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights is
to be fulfilled, the international community -- and especially the
world's democracies \-- cannot accept that today's sobering realities
are impervious to change. Indeed, they compel us to align ourselves with
those who work for human dignity and political reform.\
\
In 2006, the courageous efforts of human rights defenders were
highlighted by democratic governments:\
\
Country resolutions passed by the United Nations General Assembly in
2006 emphasized the need to protect human rights defenders in Iran,
Belarus, North Korea and Burma.\
\
The UN Democracy Fund, growing out of an idea presented to the General
Assembly by President Bush in 2004 and established in 2005, completed
its first year successfully. Its board agreed to fund 125 projects out
of more than 1,300 proposals submitted by over 100 countries -- a
disbursal of more than \$35 million in grants mostly to prodemocracy
civil society organizations.\
\
At the regional level, in June 2006 the General Assembly of the
Organization of American States (OAS) adopted the Declaration of Santo
Domingo, a groundbreaking multilateral commitment by the countries of
the region to "guarantee the liberty of every person to enjoy freedom of
expression, including access to uncensored political debate and the free
exchange of ideas through all forms of mass media, including the
Internet." The Foreign Ministers also declared their resolve to develop
and encourage strategies and best practices to that effect.\
\
The OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights\' Unit for Human
Rights Defenders issued a report on the serious problems they face in
some countries, emphasizing the need for governments to support their
work.\
\
In advance of the July African Union Assembly of the Heads of State,
civil society organizations from 19 African countries met in Banjul, The
Gambia, to develop recommendations for summit leaders regarding civil
society's role in the African Peer Review Mechanism on countries'
compliance with treaty obligations, ways to improve access to
information by civil society, and citizenship laws that entrench
discrimination. These recommendations were adopted at the summit.\
\
In the Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) region the Forum for
the Future brought together government officials and civil society
representatives from the region, along with G-8 partners, at the Dead
Sea in Jordan. Nearly 50 civil society leaders representing hundreds of
organizations from 16 countries of the region participated in
discussions on the rule of law, transparency, women\'s and youth
empowerment, and the legal environment for civil society organizations.
They also discussed how to strengthen reform by establishing mechanisms
to follow-up on recommendations. Though the hardest part lies ahead --
adoption and implementation of recommendations put forward by civil
society \-- the Forum helped to open political space that did not before
exist for civil society organizations to form and interact with
governments in the region.\
\
Marking International Human Rights Day in December 2006, Secretary Rice
launched two important U.S. initiatives in support of human rights and
democracy defenders:\
\
She announced the creation of a Human Rights Defenders Fund to be
administered by the State Department that will quickly disburse small
grants to help human rights defenders facing extraordinary needs as a
result of government repression. This funding could go to cover legal
defense or medical costs, or to meet the pressing needs of activists'
families.\
\
Secretary Rice also issued ten guiding NGO Principles
(http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/77771.htm) regarding the treatment by
governments of nongovernmental organizations. These core principles will
guide U.S. treatment of NGOs and we also will use them to assess the
actions of other governments. The principles are meant to complement
lengthier, more detailed, United Nations and other international
documents addressing human rights defenders and can help to rally
worldwide support for embattled NGOs by serving as a handy resource for
governments, international organizations, civil society groups, and
journalists.\
\
When democracies support the work of human rights advocates and civil
society organizations, we are helping men and women in countries across
the globe shape their own destinies in freedom. And by so doing, we are
helping to build a safer, better world for all.\
\
We must defend the defenders, for they are the agents of peaceful,
democratic change.\
\
\
\
SAUDI ARABIA\
\
\
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by the Al Saud family
with a population of 22.7 million, including 6.1 million foreigners.
Since August 2005 King Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud has ruled as
custodian of Islam\'s two holiest sites in Mecca and Medina. The
government bases its legitimacy in governance according to its
interpretation of Islamic law (Shari\'a) and the 1992 Basic Law. The
Basic Law sets out the system of government, rights of citizens, the
powers and duties of the government, and provides that the Koran and the
Traditions (Sunna) of the Prophet Muhammad serve as the country\'s
constitution. The only elected representatives were half of the
municipal counselors, elected by men in December 2005 on a nonparty
basis. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective control
of the security forces.\
\
The following significant human rights problems were reported: no right
to peacefully change the government; infliction of severe pain by
judicially sanctioned corporal punishments; beatings and other abuses;
inadequate prison and detention center conditions; arbitrary arrest and
detention, sometimes incommunicado; denial of fair public trials;
exemption from the rule of law for some individuals and lack of judicial
independence; arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, and
correspondence; and significant restriction of civil
liberties\--freedoms of speech and press, including the Internet;
assembly; association; and movement. The government committed severe
violations of religious freedom. There was a widespread perception of
serious corruption and a lack of government transparency, as well as
legal and societal discrimination and violence against women. Other
religious, ethnic, and minority groups faced discrimination. There were
strict limitations on worker rights, especially for foreign workers.\
\
There was greater involvement in government activities by the Majlis
Al-Shura (the Consultative Council) and the 178 municipal councils.
Despite increased public and media discourse about human rights, the
overall human rights environment remained poor.\
\
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS\
\
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
From:\
\
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life\
\
There were no reports that the government or its agents committed
arbitrary or unlawful killings; however, the government executed persons
for criminal offenses after closed trials, making it impossible to
assess whether legal protections were applied (see section 1.e.). The
country\'s highest court, the Supreme Judicial Council, is responsible
for reviewing cases involving sentences of stoning, amputation, or
death, and sentences can only be enforced pursuant to a royal decree
issued by the king.\
\
b. Disappearance\
\
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.\
\
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment\
\
The Basic Law prohibits torture and Shari\'a prohibits judges from
accepting confessions obtained under duress; however, there were reports
that some authorities practiced physical abuse and torture.\
\
The government reserved its position on Article 20 of the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment and does not recognize the jurisdiction of the Committee
against Torture to investigate allegations of systematic torture.\
\
Ministry of Interior (MOI) officials were responsible for most alleged
incidents of physical abuse and torture of prisoners, including
beatings, lashings, and suspension from bars by handcuffs. According to
a 2005 report by the international nongovernmental organization (NGO),
Amnesty International (AI), these practices were used to force
confessions from prisoners. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), a
former prisoner in Mecca general prison alleged that prison guards
regularly abused him during his time in prison between 2002 and the end
of the year by beating him, burning his back on a hot metal block, and
keeping him in solitary confinement for six months.\
\
During the year the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention
of Vice, known as the religious police (Mutawwa\'in) harassed, abused,
and detained citizens and foreigners of both sexes. These incidents were
most common in the central region, including the capital of Riyadh, and
relatively less frequent in the eastern and western regions of the
country. However, there was an increase in reported religious police
abuse in the Eastern Province and Jeddah.\
\
The government sentenced criminals to punishment according to its
interpretation of Shari\'a. Corporal punishments provided by law
included public execution by beheading, amputation, lashing, and other
measures deemed appropriate by the judicial authorities. According to
HRW, judges routinely issued sentences of thousands of lashes as
punishment, often carried out in public. HRW reported that the beatings
lead to severe mental trauma and physical pain, and the victims do not
receive medical treatment.\
\
During the year the press reported approximately 38 executions. The
government executes individuals who have been convicted of murder,
apostasy, narcotics-related offenses, rape, and armed robbery. Twenty of
these executions were for crimes related to illegal drugs. There were no
executions for apostasy during the year. The authorities punished
repeated thievery and other repeated offenses by amputation of the right
hand and left foot. The government also punished people for various
offenses with lashings, including for alcohol-related offenses or for
being alone in the company of an unrelated person of the opposite sex.
According to press reports, lashings were generally administered with a
thin reed by a man who must hold a book under his arm to prevent him
from lifting the arm too high. The strokes, delivered through a thin
shirt, are not supposed to leave permanent damage but are designed to
leave painful welts that bleed and bruise. According to the NGO National
Society for Human Rights (NSHR), there were unauthorized and excessive
lashings in the women\'s prisons.\
On September 9, a Nigerian man had his right hand amputated after he was
convicted of stealing in the Great Mosque in Mecca. He was found guilty
of \"committing the crime of pickpocketing.\"\
\
On November 1, a Nigerian woman was executed in Jeddah for smuggling
drugs into the country. Similarly, on November 1, a male citizen was
executed in Riyadh for the same crime.\
\
On January 23, the media reported that Naif Al-Otaibi pardoned Puthen
Veetil Abdul Lateef Naushad, an Indian citizen, for his role in a fight
allegedly blinding Al-Otaibi in one of his eyes. Due to the pardon,
Naushad\'s right eye was not gouged out as punishment. Naushad had
served three years in prison for this assault.\
\
Prison and Detention Center Conditions\
\
Conditions at prisons and detention centers were generally acceptable,
according to international standards. However, there were some prisons
with below-acceptable standards in hygiene, food, medical, and social
services, and prolonged detention of prisoners in poor health. Many
jails remained overcrowded, and some detainees were allowed family
visits only after a significant period of time after their initial
incarceration. The government permitted visits to detention centers and
prisons in accordance with international modalities. These visits were
made by the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and NSHR, an NGO originally
endowed by King Fahd. The HRC visited three prisons in the Eastern
Province.\
\
The NSHR visited and reported abuses in 18 prisons, including four
women\'s prisons. It found that pretrial detainees were held together
with convicted prisoners. NSHR reported that drug abuse is increasing
inside at least one prison. There were reports that nonviolent criminals
(e.g., debtors) were held in the same facilities as violent criminals.
NSHR also reported unauthorized and exaggerated lashings in the women\'s
prisons, as well as the mixing of HIV positive with HIV negative
inmates. At the prison in Mecca for noncitizens, NSHR found inadequate
sleeping facilities, inadequate provision of medical services, and a
nonfunctioning air conditioning system.\
\
On November 27, HRW made its first official visit, in addition to an
unofficial visit in February, to the country in four years with the
intent of visiting specific detention and prison facilities and specific
detainees and prisoners. While HRW visited four prisons, it was not
allowed to visit all of the prisons and all of the prisoners it
requested. HRW visited a small group of prisoners on November 30 at the
Al-Ha\'ir correction facility south of Riyadh, but the delegation\'s
attempt to return and revisit the facility on December 2 was blocked.\
\
There were also reports that consular visits to noncitizens were
restricted.\
\
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention\
\
The Basic Law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention and limits the
period of arrest to five days without charges being filed; however,
ambiguities in implementation of the law and lack of due process give
the interior minister broad powers to detain persons indefinitely. In
practice, persons were held weeks or months and sometimes longer.\
\
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus\
\
The king, the interior minister, the defense minister, and the national
guard commander have responsibility in law and in practice for law
enforcement and maintenance of order. King Abdullah remained in command
of the National Guard. Crown Prince Sultan remained the defense and
aviation minister with responsibility over all of that ministry\'s armed
forces. The interior minister, Prince Naif, exercised control over
government internal security forces, the internal security service or
secret police (Mabahith), and border forces. Prince Muqrin was appointed
secretary-general of the General Intelligence Presidency (GIP), which
has its own forces. The religious police constitute a semiautonomous
agency, reporting to the king via the Royal Diwan (the king\'s royal
court). The MOI also has undefined oversight role of the religious
police. The religious police monitor public behavior to enforce strict
adherence to conservative Islamic norms. The media reported the
government arrested and punished police and border guards involved in
smuggling and corruption.\
\
Arrest and Detention\
\
The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention and limits the period
of arrest; however, in practice, persons were held weeks, months, and
sometimes longer, and the law gives the interior minister broad powers
to detain persons indefinitely. The regular police, the secret police,
and the religious police can arrest and detain persons.\
\
There were reports the authorities arrested and detained persons without
following explicit legal guidelines. The religious police intimidated,
harassed, and arrested persons based on their own religious
interpretations of \"crimes of vice\" including arrests for
\"witchcraft\" and \"sorcery\" (see section 2.c.). These instances
included men with \"strange\" haircuts or wearing improper clothes (see
section 1.f.), men tailoring or taking measurements of women for
women\'s clothes, and men dressing in female clothing (see section 5).\
\
The regulations provide bail for less serious crimes, although
authorities sometimes released detainees on the recognizance of a patron
or sponsoring employer without payment of bail. Throughout the country,
several Committees for Collection of Donations for Impoverished
Prisoners raised funds to pay fines stemming from traffic accidents and
civil cases because prisoners remain in custody until the fines are
paid, regardless of length of sentence. There were also reports the king
and other members of the royal family paid fines on behalf of nonviolent
prisoners to enable their release.\
\
If accused persons were not released, authorities typically detained
them for two months before sending the case to trial or, in the case of
some foreigners, summarily deporting them. There were no established
procedures providing detainees the right to inform their family of their
arrest. There were no established procedures providing for appeal of
deportation.\
\
By royal decree, the religious police have the authority to detain
persons for no more than 24 hours for violations of the strict standards
of proper dress and behavior; however, they often exceeded this limit
before delivering detainees to the police (see section 1.f.).\
\
The religious police generally complied with the requirement that a
police officer accompany them at the time of an arrest; however, there
were cases in which religious police detained persons without the
presence of a police officer. During the year in the more conservative
Nejd region that includes Riyadh, reports continued of religious police
accosting, abusing, arresting, and detaining citizens and noncitizens,
especially women, for allegedly violating dress and behavior standards.
There were also a number of reports of religious police in Mecca taking
similar actions. The risk of harassment was substantial. The religious
police detained men for offenses that included eating in restaurants
with women not related to them, making lewd remarks to women in shopping
malls, following cars lawfully transporting women, or walking in groups
through family-only sections of shopping centers. Young unmarried men
are prohibited from entering most shopping malls. Religious police
detained women of many nationalities for actions such as riding in a
taxi with a man who was not her relative, appearing with her head
uncovered in shopping malls, and eating in restaurants with males who
were not her relatives. Many such detainees were held for days,
sometimes weeks, without officials notifying families or, in the case of
noncitizens, embassies.\
\
According to a December 23 press report, the religious police beat up a
mother and her daughter\'s driver, abducted the women using their car,
then abandoned the women, who were locked in the trunk of the car after
the car broke down. The religious police claimed the women had been
visiting male friends and accused them of promiscuity. At year\'s end
the courts had not yet decided on the women\'s suit against the
religious police.\
\
In spite of the law, although to a lesser extent than in the past, the
religious police continued to raid private religious ceremonies, notably
arresting and detaining Christians as well as the Ahmadiyya religious
group (see section 2.c.).\
\
On December 29, the religious police raided a gathering for food and
prayer involving members of the Ahmadiyya religious group. Authorities
consider them \"non-Muslim\" and heretical. Reportedly, the religious
police detained 49 members, including approximately 19 women and
children and 14 youths. Of the 49 individuals, there were 25 Indians, 23
Pakistanis, and one Syrian. At year\'s end, all 49 remained in police
custody.\
\
The authorities may detain without charge, or charge with attempting to
destabilize the government, persons who publicly criticize the
government (see sections 2.a. and 3).\
\
Political detainees arrested by the internal security service were
reportedly held incommunicado in special prisons during the initial
phase of the investigation. This period may last weeks or months under
the MOI\'s broad legal authority. Access to detainees by family or
lawyers was restricted.\
\
The government continued to discriminate against and detain members of
the Shi\'a Muslim minority. Government security forces, mostly religious
police, reportedly arrested Shi\'a based on scant suspicion, held them
in custody for lengthy periods, and subsequently released them without
explanation.\
\
Citizens can report abuses by security forces at any police station;
however, no information was publicly available regarding how complaints
are handled.\
\
Amnesty\
\
The government continued its tradition of pardoning or granting amnesty
to more than 9,000 prisoners on special occasions, including holy days
and during Ramadan. The government temporarily released prisoners on
special occasions so they could visit family; some were permanently
released. On October 12, according to HRW, the government released 700
detainees who were not involved in terrorist acts but had been suspected
of harboring extremist thoughts.\
\
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial\
\
The Basic Law provides for an independent judiciary, and the government
generally respected judicial independence in practice. Members of the
royal family were not required to appear before the courts, and their
associates have influenced judges. The Supreme Judicial Council, whose
members are appointed by the king, appoints, transfers, and removes
judges. The Ministry of Justice disciplines judges. The Basic Law allows
for a public trial; however, most trials were closed to the public.
Juries are not used. Despite 2002 laws providing for suspects\' rights
to legal counsel and requiring public trials, most trials reportedly
were held in secret and without defense lawyers.\
\
There are two types of courts: Shari\'a and special. Special courts
include commercial courts. The legal system is based on the
government\'s interpretation of Islamic law in all courts. Courts
exercise jurisdiction over common criminal cases and civil suits
regarding marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance. Their
jurisdiction extends to non Muslims for crimes committed in the country.
Cases involving relatively small penalties were tried in summary courts.
More serious crimes are adjudicated in courts of common pleas from which
appeals may be made to the courts of appeal.\
\
Other civil proceedings, such as those involving claims against the
government and enforcement of foreign judgments, were held before
various specialized administrative tribunals including the Commission
for the Settlement of Labor Disputes. The Board of Grievances hears
complaints against government actions, including against the religious
police. Plaintiffs have won their cases against government actions in
these tribunals and have been able to enforce foreign judgments.\
\
The government continued to reorganize the judiciary to improve
administration of justice. Businessmen complained courts were
ineffective and slow, court procedures were not well established, and
that judges possessed religious rather than legal training. They also
complained that judges often acted capriciously and did not base
judgments on precedent, leading to widely divergent rulings.\
\
The government permitted Shi\'a to use their own legal tradition to
adjudicate cases involving domestic issues, inheritance, and Islamic
endowments. However, there were only two courts and two Shi\'a judges.
The two courts, one in Al-Hasa and the other in Qatif, handled cases of
Shi\'a family law. These courts did not have adequate resources to serve
the large Shi\'a population in the Eastern Province. Either party in a
dispute can appeal the Shi\'a court\'s decision to a Shari\'a (Sunni)
court based on Hanbali jurisprudence.\
\
There was no comparable right for non-Muslims or foreigners; cases of
non-Muslims and foreigners were handled in Shari\'a courts.\
\
The military justice system has jurisdiction over uniformed personnel
and civil servants who are charged with violations of military
regulations. The defense minister and the king review the decisions of
courts-martial.\
\
According to the justice ministry, judges are free to base their
decisions on any of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence. In
practice, judges usually follow Hanbali jurisprudence.\
\
The Supreme Judicial Council may not reverse decisions made by courts of
appeal; however, the Council may review lower-court decisions and refer
them back to a lower court for reconsideration.\
\
The Council of Senior Religious Scholars (Ulema) is an autonomous
advisory body of 20 senior religious jurists, including the minister of
justice, which interprets Shari\'a thereby establishing the legal
principles to guide lower-court judges.\
\
Trial Procedures\
\
The Criminal Procedure Law provides persons under investigation the
right to a lawyer and permits lawyers to present arguments in criminal
courts. The law also provides that convicted persons be informed of
their right to appeal rulings.\
\
A woman\'s testimony does not carry the same weight as a man. In a
Shari\'a court, the testimony of one man equals that of two women. Under
the Hanbali interpretation of Shari\'a, judges may discount the
testimony of persons who are nonpracticing Muslims or who do not adhere
to Hanbali doctrine. Legal sources reported that testimony by Shi\'a was
often ignored in courts of law or was deemed to have less weight than
testimony by Sunnis.\
\
Female parties in court proceedings such as divorce and family law cases
generally had to deputize male relatives to speak on their behalf. In
the absence of two witnesses, or four witnesses in the case of adultery,
confessions before a judge were almost always required for criminal
conviction\--a situation that has led prosecuting authorities to coerce
confessions from suspects by threats and abuse (see section 1.c.).\
\
Laws and regulations state that defendants should be treated equally;
however, sentencing was not uniform and crimes against Muslims received
harsher penalties than those against non Muslims. In wrongful death
cases, the amount of indemnity or \"blood money\" awarded to relatives
varied with the nationality, religion, age, and sex of the victim. A
sentence may be changed at any stage of review, except for punishments
stipulated by the Koran.\
\
Islamic law considers Hindus to be polytheists and on this basis
justifies discrimination in calculating accidental death or injury
compensation. According to the country\'s Hanbali interpretation of
Shari\'a, once a court determines fault, a Muslim male receives 100
percent of the amount of compensation determined, a Jew or Christian
male receives 50 percent, and all others receive one-sixteenth of the
amount a Muslim male receives. Women receive 50 percent of what men
receive in each of these categories.\
\
Provincial governors, all of whom were members of the royal family, have
authority to reduce a sentence. In cases between two individuals, the
wronged party has the right to accept money or impose no punishment
instead of the punishment decreed by the judge. In general, members of
the royal family and other powerful families were not subject to the
same rule of law as ordinary citizens.\
\
The king and his advisors review cases involving capital punishment. The
king has the authority to commute death sentences and grant pardons,
except for capital crimes committed against individuals. In such cases,
he may request the victim\'s next of kin pardon the killer\--usually in
return for compensation from the family of the convicted person or from
the king.\
\
Political Prisoners and Detainees\
\
According to press accounts, Deputy Minister of the Interior Prince
Ahmad bin Abdul Aziz said the kingdom did not imprison persons on
political grounds, but because they were terrorists or collaborators
with terrorists or had violated Shari\'a or civil regulations. The
government did not provide information regarding political prisoners or
detainees or respond to inquiries concerning political prisoners. The
government conducted closed trials for persons who may have been
political prisoners or detainees and in other cases has detained persons
incommunicado for long periods while under investigation.\
\
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies\
\
The Basic Law provides for an independent and impartial judiciary in
civil matters. There were reports of lawsuits seeking damages for, or
cessation of, human rights violations. There were administrative and
judicial remedies available for alleged violations. There were reports
of problems enforcing domestic court orders, primarily when a foreigner
won a judgment against a citizen.\
\
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence\
\
The Basic Law guarantees the inviolability of homes and the privacy of
correspondence. The Criminal Procedure Law requires authorities obtain a
warrant prior to searching a residence, or a court order prior to
perusing personal correspondence and documents. The government generally
respected this inviolability; however, there were some cases in which
the government infringed on these rights, notably religious police raids
on private residences. Royal decrees include provisions for the
government to defend the home from unlawful intrusions, while laws and
regulations prohibit officials from intercepting mail and electronic
communications except when necessary during criminal investigations. The
police generally must demonstrate reasonable cause and obtain permission
from a provincial governor before searching a private home.\
\
Despite these provisions, customs officials routinely opened mail and
shipments to search for contraband, including material deemed
pornographic or that appeared to be non-Sunni Islamic religious
material. There were far fewer reports that some customs officials
arbitrarily confiscated or censored materials including Christian Bibles
and religious videotapes (see section 2.c.). The authorities also opened
mail and used informants and wiretaps in internal security and criminal
matters. Informants and, in some districts, an informal system of ward
bosses reported \"seditious ideas,\" antigovernment activity, or
\"behavior contrary to Islam\" in their neighborhoods to the MOI.\
\
The government enforced most social and Islamic religious norms.
Citizens have the right to sue to enforce these laws. For example,
citizens sued to dissolve \"unequal\" marriages between tribal and
nontribal individuals or between tribal members in which the status of
one tribe was perceived to be superior to another. Citizens also sued to
punish those who \"insulted Saudi values and norms.\" Women may not
marry noncitizens without government permission; men must obtain
government permission to marry noncitizen women outside the six states
of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). In accordance with Shari\'a,
women are prohibited from marrying non-Muslims; men may marry Christians
and Jews, as well as Muslims (see section 2.c.). The government does not
refuse marriage licenses between Sunni and Shi\'a couples; tradition and
culture, not law, restrict marriages between Sunni and Shi\'a citizens.\
\
According to the law, men who work in certain government positions, such
as the military, cannot marry noncitizens, although exceptions are made
in practice. The government subjects top civil servants and security
officials to extensive questioning when applying to marry foreigners. In
response to certain cultural norms, the government was more lenient when
approving marriages of foreigners to elderly and disabled citizens. The
marital restrictions also applied to citizens studying overseas on
government scholarships. Violators risked disciplinary action; however,
this policy was frequently violated, and there were no reports of
sanctions being imposed.\
\
Religious police practices and incidents of abuse varied widely.
According to an official report, during the year there were 3,227 field
officers working in 1,310 centers in all 13 provinces. They reported
390,117 incidents involving 402,725 persons of which only 101,143 were
citizens. The religious police referred 6.4 percent of these incidents
to the regular police and the courts. In certain areas, the religious
police and freelance religious vigilantes harassed, abused, arrested,
and detained citizens and foreigners (see section 1.d.).\
\
Religious police enforcement of strict standards of social behavior
included closing commercial establishments during the five daily prayer
observances, insisting upon compliance with strict norms of public
dress, and dispersing gatherings of women in public places designated
for men, as well as preventing unaccompanied men from entering public
places designated for families. Religious police frequently reproached
both citizen and foreign women for failure to observe strict dress codes
and arrested men and women found together who were not married or
closely related.\
\
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:\
\
a. Freedom of Speech and Press\
\
The Basic Law does not provide for freedom of speech or the press, and
the government generally did not respect these rights in practice.
According to the Basic Law, the media\'s role is to educate the masses
and promote national unity. Media outlets can be banned if they promote
mischief and discord, compromise the security of the state and its
public image, or offend man\'s dignity and rights. The government
continued to restrict freedom of speech and press and censored articles
critical of the royal family or Islam. The authorities routinely
censored foreign print sources. However, during the year, there was
regular discussion in the media of social, economic, and political
issues previously considered taboo such as reform, trafficking in
persons, prostitution, homosexuality, the religious establishment,
women\'s rights, and human rights.\
\
The print media were censored and privately owned; some had close ties
to members of the royal family. Journalists practiced self-censorship by
refraining from direct criticism of government officials. A media policy
statement and a national security law prohibit the dissemination of
criticism of the royal family and the government. The government media
policy statement urged journalists to uphold Islam, oppose atheism,
promote Arab interests, and preserve cultural heritage. The Ministry of
Information must approve the appointment of, and may remove, all senior
editors. The government also provided guidelines to newspapers regarding
controversial issues. The government-owned Saudi Press Agency expressed
official government views. All newspapers in the country must be
licensed by the government. With a license, newspapers are allowed to
carry government advertisements which accounted for the largest sources
of revenue for the newspapers.\
\
The Saudi Journalist Association was founded in 2004 under a government
charter granted in 2003. Membership was voluntary and open to both men
and women. Noncitizen journalists working in the kingdom were eligible
to join as nonvoting members. The organization\'s board of directors,
which was elected in 2004, had nine members, including two women. At
year\'s end the organization was inactive.\
\
Authorities continued to ban government employees from criticizing the
government. The government enforced existing laws based on Article 12 of
the Basic Law that provides the state with the authority to \"prevent
anything that may lead to disunity, sedition, and separation.\"
Accordingly, all public employees are enjoined from \"participating,
directly or indirectly, in the preparation of any document, speech or
petition, engaging in dialogue with local and foreign media, or
participating in any meetings intended to oppose the state\'s
policies.\"\
\
Newspapers routinely investigated and published stories on crime and
terrorism. Two London-based Arabic dailies, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat and Al
Hayat, continued to be owned by members of the royal family and were
widely distributed and read in the country. Both newspapers practiced
self-censorship.\
\
According to HRW, in June the secret police arrested Sa\'ad bin Zu\'air
for 20 days for saying in an interview on Al-Arabiya television that the
death of Abu Mus\'ab Al-Zarqawi was \"sad for most Muslims.\"\
\
In December 2005 a new youth-focused paper appeared on domestic
newsstands, called Al-Shams (The Sun). Printed in Bahrain, the paper is
sold with tacit approval of the government. Initially, the paper had
only limited success, until it published the controversial Danish
cartoons and was briefly shut down. On March 21, Al-Shams reappeared
after a new editor in chief, Khalaf Al-Harbi, was appointed, and its
success continued. The newspaper pledged to staunchly advocate the
rights of young persons in the country for whom education, jobs, social
services, and freedoms were key concerns.\
\
The government owned and operated most domestic television and radio
companies. Government censors removed any reference in foreign programs
and songs to politics, religions other than Islam, pork or pigs,
alcohol, and sex.\
\
On August 4, award-winning writer and women\'s rights activist, Wajiha
Al-Howaider, was arrested on the causeway to Bahrain because she was
holding a sign that read, \"Give women their rights.\" She was released
with a warning. On September 20, she was summoned and interrogated for
six hours by the secret police for planning a peaceful protest on
September 23, national day, by women demanding their rights. The secret
police threatened her with the loss of her job at Saudi Aramco.
Al-Howaider was released only after she signed a written pledge to cease
human rights activities in the kingdom, including writing articles,
organizing protests, and talking to the media. She was not allowed to
leave the country for her home in Bahrain until September 28.\
\
On September 27, the Court of Grievances dismissed the charges against
the author of the popular novel, \"Girls of Riyadh.\" A group of
citizens filed charges against the author because she allegedly
slandered society by writing a novel about socially unacceptable
behavior by female citizens.\
\
During the year the Consultative Council continued partial, delayed
television coverage of its proceedings and allowed journalists to attend
sessions.\
\
Although technically illegal, there were several million
satellite-receiving dishes in the country, which provided citizens with
foreign television programming. Access to outside sources of
information, such as Arabic and Western satellite television channels
and the Internet was widespread.\
\
The government banned books, magazines, and other materials that it
considered sexual or pornographic. The Ministry of Information compiled
and updated a list of publications prohibited from being sold in the
country.\
\
Internet Freedom\
\
The government restricted access to the Internet, and there were reports
that the government monitored e-mail and Internet chat rooms. However,
within limits, individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail. The
government blocked access to Internet Web sites deemed sexual,
pornographic, politically offensive, \"un-Islamic\", or disruptive
because of controversial religious and political content.\
\
Access to the Internet was available through local government monitored
servers. There were as many as one million Internet subscribers. Some
citizens circumvented controls by accessing the Internet through servers
in other countries. The government had a process through which citizens
could request reconsideration of a decision to block a particular Web
site, and authorities reportedly at least partially unblocked some Web
sites.\
\
On October 9, the Consultative Council approved the country\'s first law
to combat electronic crimes such as defamation on the Internet, hacking,
unauthorized access to government Web sites, and stealing information
related to national security.\
\
On March 10, Mohsen Al-Awajy was arrested for criticizing the king\'s
alleged heavy reliance on the advice of liberals on the Web site
Wassatyah.com. On March 21, he was released after the NGO Reporters
Without Borders petitioned for his release.\
\
On April 4, Rabah El-Queay, a 23-year-old journalist of Al-Shams, was
arrested in relation to content he posted on online forums using his
real name. Prior to his arrest, El-Queay was involved in a car accident,
allegedly part of the continuing harassment he endured because of his
postings. The official investigation into the accident indicated that
El-Queay was at fault because his writings had driven good men to harass
him.\
\
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events\
\
The government continued to restrict academic freedom. The government
prohibited the study of evolution, Freud, Marx, Western music, and
Western philosophy. Some professors believed informants monitored their
classroom comments and reported to government and religious
authorities.\
\
The government continued to restrict cultural events. Citing a 2003
royal decree that stated the King Abdul Aziz Center for National
Dialogue obviates the need for individual cultural forums, the
government closed Shi\'a and Sunni cultural forums in the area of
al-Ahsa in the Eastern Province. Cultural forums, particularly in Qatif,
continue to operate. The government does not allow movie theaters and
restricted the public showing of films. Public performance of plays and
music were allowed if they are traditional and part of a special event.\
\
According to HRW, conservatives including the religious police harassed
visitors and authors, especially women, at the February Riyadh
International Book Fair, which displayed a Bible and works by banned
author Turki Al-Hamad for the first time.\
\
Starting on July 12, for four weeks the Jeddah Visual Shows Festival
held the country\'s first film festival which showed 16 films, including
documentaries, short-subjects, and one animated feature. Eight movies
were domestic productions, seven were from the United Arab Emirates, and
one was from Kuwait. The public forum was open to men and women. Cinemas
have been banned since the 1980s.\
\
On July 30, a fiction group at the Riyadh Literary Club organized a
discussion that featured the showing of two domestic short-subjects from
the Jeddah Visual Shows Festival. This screening was allegedly the first
of its kind in Riyadh, and was attended by 40 males and the two male
directors of the films.\
\
On November 27, Al Riyadh, Al Hayat, and Al Watan reported that a
\"group of extremists\" (ultra-conservatives) raided the theater,
disturbed an audience, and forcibly ended a play at Al Yamamah College.
The play was \"A Moderate Who Lacks Moderation,\" by Ahmad Al-Eissa,
president of Al Yamamah College. Security forces intervened to end
clashes between the audience and the extremists. The extremists refused
to leave the theater after the show was cancelled. The police fired
shots to disperse them. The extremists continued their physical attacks
on the organizers, reporters, and photographers. A number of them were
arrested. Al Watan reported the Ministry of Culture and Information\'s
deputy minister for cultural affairs said literary clubs can show films,
if suitable for the public.\
\
The government censored most forms of public artistic expression and
prohibited cinemas and public musical or theatrical performances, except
those considered folkloric.\
\
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association\
\
Freedom of Assembly\
\
The Basic Law does not address freedom of assembly, which the government
strictly limited in practice and prohibited in the form of public
demonstrations.\
\
Public meetings were usually segregated by gender. The authorities
monitored large nonfamily gatherings, particularly if women were
present. The religious police dispersed any large nonfamily groups found
in public places, such as restaurants. However, men and women can mix in
some public places that cater to noncitizens. In Jeddah, a local
Saudi-American business group routinely holds its general meetings in a
hotel where male and female citizens and noncitizen participants mix
freely.\
\
In August the government allowed the Shi\'a of the Eastern Province to
assemble to conduct three small, peaceful demonstrations centered in the
Qatif oasis protesting Israeli military operations in Lebanon.\
\
Freedom of Association\
\
The Basic Law does not address freedom of association, and the
government strictly limited it in practice.\
\
The government prohibited the establishment of political parties or any
group that the government considered opposing the regime, or possibly
overstepping the bounds of criticism by challenging the king\'s
authority (see section 3). Any associations must be licensed by the MOI
and comply with its rules and regulations.\
\
The Human Rights First Society (HRFS) continued to operate without a
government license. In December the interior ministry stopped the HRFS
from holding its first membership meeting in Najran. Otherwise, the
interior ministry seldom interfered with the HRFS, although it harassed
its leader, Ibrahim Al-Mugaiteeb.\
\
c. Freedom of Religion\
\
The Basic Law states that Islam is the official religion and all
citizens are required to be Muslims. The legal system is based on the
government-sanctioned interpretation of Islamic law. Government leaders
called for tolerance and moderation, and King Abdullah and other leaders
made public pronouncements condemning religious extremism. Government
leaders also asserted that individuals have the right to practice their
religion privately without government interference. On June 17,
Al-Riyadh newspaper reported that the king gave a speech in Buraida in
which he said that labeling citizens as secular, liberal, hypocrite, or
extremist was divisive and contrary to the country\'s two key
principles, Shari\'a and national unity.\
\
There is no legal recognition or protection of religious freedom, and it
is severely restricted in practice. The government limits the practice
of all but the officially sanctioned version of Islam and prohibits the
public practice of other religions. The government continued to prohibit
public practice of non-Muslim religions and limited religious practices
of Shi\'a and Sufi sects. As a matter of policy, the government
confirmed it ensures and protects the right to private worship for all,
including non-Muslims who gather in homes for religious practice;
however, this right was not always respected in practice and was not
defined in law.\
\
Conversion by a Muslim to another religion is widely considered
apostasy, a crime punishable by death if the accused does not recant.
There were no executions for apostasy during the reporting period, and
there have been no reports of such executions for several years.\
\
Citizens and especially foreigners widely believed in and sometimes
practiced \"magic\" and \"superstition.\" However, under the
government\'s interpretation of Shari\'a, magic was regarded as one of
the worst forms of polytheism, and is an executable offense; however, in
practice, individuals convicted of magic are not always executed. An
unknown number of detainees were held in prison on the charge of
\"sorcery\" or the alleged practice of \"black magic\" or
\"witchcraft.\"\
\
The practice of other schools of Sunni Islam was unsupported by the
government, and adherents of the Shi\'a branch of Islam faced various
forms of discrimination condoned by the government, including
restrictions on religious practice and on the building of mosques and
community centers (see also sections 1.e., 3, and 5).\
\
The Shi\'a Muslim minority, estimated to be between 10 and 15 percent of
the citizen population, lived mostly in the Eastern Province, although a
significant number resided in Medina in the Western Province and in
Najran in the southwest. Members were subjected to officially sanctioned
discrimination of various forms. Many Shi\'a view the ultimate
jurisdiction of Shari\'a (Sunni) courts over intra-Shi\'a family matters
as impinging on their religious freedom (see section 1.e.).\
\
An estimated 700,000 Sulaimani Ismailis, a subset of Shi\'a Islam, live
in the country, primarily in Najran. According to HRW and media reports,
on October 31, the king pardoned 10 of the at least 57 Sulaimani
Ismailis Shi\'a jailed following rioting in Najran in 2000. There were
reports that the government discriminated against Sulaiman Ismailis
Shi\'a by prohibiting them from having their own religious books,
allowing religious leaders to declare them unbelievers, denying them
government employment, restricting them to lower level jobs, and
relocating them from the southwest to other parts of the country or
encouraging them to emigrate.\
\
According to HRW, during August and September, a Sulaimani Ismaili
Shi\'a, Hadi Al-Mutif, conducted a hunger strike to protest his
continued imprisonment for \"insulting the Prophet Mohammed.\" In his
first trial, Al-Mutif was reportedly sentenced to death. Reportedly the
government never sentenced Al-Mutif to a certain term in prison;
however, he has served at least 12 years. Reports that the king was
going to pardon him during a December visit to Najran proved incorrect.
At least one other man, a Sunni, who committed the same offense, was
sentenced to life imprisonment, which was commuted to 14 years.\
\
In September approximately 300 Sulaimani Ismaili Shi\'a in Najran
protested their \"repression\" and demanded the release of Ismailis held
in jail since 2000 and an apology from a cleric and judge who labeled
them \"infidels.\" They also demanded the cessation of attempts by local
authorities to resettle Yemeni tribesmen given citizenship on land owned
by Ismailis.\
\
Sulaimani Ismailis Shi\'a in Najran reportedly were charged with
practicing magic; however, the Shi\'a Ismailis maintained that their
practice was not magic as it adheres to their interpretation of Islam.
Some conservative Sunnis disagree with this interpretation and claim
that the Shi\'a Ismailis believe in and practice magic.\
\
The government tolerated the public celebration of the Shi\'a holiday of
Ashura and other Shi\'a holidays in the Eastern Province city of Qatif.
The police monitored the celebrations. No other public Ashura
celebrations were allowed in the country, including in cities where
Shi\'a were in the majority, and many Shi\'a traveled to Qatif or
Bahrain to participate in Ashura celebrations. The government continued
to exclude Shi\'a perspectives from the state\'s extensive religious
media and broadcast programming but appeared to have more sporadically
enforced restrictions banning the importation and sale of Shi\'a books
and audio and video products. Shi\'a were not allowed to teach religion
to classes higher than the elementary grade level, and the government
did not allow Shi\'a to open private schools for girls.\
\
The media reported that the government allowed the celebration of
Gargean on the fifteenth day of Ramadan (i.e., children dress in
traditional clothes going door-to-door asking for nuts and candies).
This celebration reportedly began in the Eastern Province among the
Shi\'a but spread to the central, southern, and northern parts of the
kingdom.\
\
There was discrimination in the availability of facilities for religious
activities. The government issued permits to construct a few Shi\'a
mosques, including a large mosque in Qatif, although the process was
more cumbersome and took far longer for the Shi\'a community than for
Sunnis. The Shi\'a have declined government offers to build
state-supported mosques because the government prohibits the
incorporation and display of Shi\'a motifs in state-supported mosques.\
\
Significant numbers of Sufis in the Western Province engaged in
technically illegal practices such as celebrating the Mawlid, or
Prophet\'s birthday, without government interference.\
\
On December 7, prominent Sunni religious commentator and former
professor at Imam Mohammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, Abdul
Rahman Nasser Al-Barak, issued a fatwa attacking Shi\'a, calling them
\"rejectionists\" and \"bearing all the characteristics of infidels.\"\
\
The government confirmed its policy to protect the right to private
worship and the right to possess and use personal religious materials.
However, it did not legally provide for this right, and there were
reports of religious police raids on private residences and detentions
of non-Muslims for alleged religious violations, such as possession of
non-Muslim literature or holding non-Muslim worship services; however,
there were fewer reports than in 2005. Many non-Muslims continued to
worship in fear of harassment and in manners that avoided discovery by
police or religious police. For the first time, the government issued a
report on the activities of the religious police during the year, which
stated 1,652 individuals were arrested for being in public without
praying during prayer time. The report also stated that there were
301,173 individuals arrested for working during prayer time. However,
the report did not provide statistics on the numbers of individuals
arrested for practicing non-Muslim religions. Anecdotal evidence
suggested there was a decrease in both long-term and short-term
detentions, and in arrests and deportations of non-Muslims. However,
there were also reports that religious police, using both Muslim and
non-Muslim informants, targeted non-Muslim religious leaders,
organizers, and religious groups for harassment, arrest, and deportation
in an effort to deter groups from conducting private, non-Muslim
religious services (see section 1.f.).\
\
During the year there were raids, arrests, and detentions of Christians
throughout the country, although fewer than in the past. On October 15,
the religious police raided a hall in Tabuk where a Filipino priest was
preaching. The religious police confiscated bibles and detained the
priest but no other churchgoers. The religious police turned the priest
over to the \"concerned authorities\" to complete the investigation.\
\
On June 9, 10 regular and religious police officers armed with wooden
clubs raided a private Christian worship service in Jeddah.
Approximately 100 Eritreans, Ethiopians and Filipinos were present. The
police arrested the church leaders, two Ethiopians and two Eritreans.
The church leaders were deported in July. In Jeddah, a Christian
evangelical leader reported that religious police attended one of his
services without disrupting the service but later in response to a
complaint closed the church and detained one of the pastors.\
\
The government did not officially permit non-Muslim clergy to enter the
country for the purpose of conducting religious services, although some
did under other auspices, and the government generally permitted
discreet religious functions. Such restrictions made it difficult for
most non-Muslims to maintain contact with clergymen and attend services
but did not prevent them from gathering to practice their faith.
Catholics and Orthodox Christians, who require a priest on a regular
basis to receive sacraments required of their faith, were particularly
affected.\
\
Proselytizing by non-Muslims, including the distribution of non Islamic
religious materials such as bibles, was illegal. The promotion of
nonofficial interpretations of Islam was less restricted than it was in
previous years. Anyone wearing religious symbols in public that were
considered idolatrous within the Hanbali school risked confrontation
with the religious police.\
\
Under the Hanbali interpretation of Shari\'a, judges may discount the
testimony of non-Muslims or those who do not adhere to \"correct
doctrine\" (see section 1.e.). Islamic religious education was mandatory
in public schools at all levels. Regardless of the Islamic tradition to
which their families adhere, all public school children receive
religious instruction that conforms to the conservative Hanbali
tradition of Sunni Islam. Expatriate non-Muslim students in private
schools were not required to study Islam. In accordance with the
religious establishment\'s interpretation of Shari\'a, women were
prohibited from marrying non-Muslims, but men were permitted to marry
Christians and Jews (see section 1.f.).\
\
The government required noncitizens to carry legal resident identity
cards (Iqamas), which contained a religious designation for \"Muslim\"
or \"non-Muslim.\" There were reports that individual religious police
pressured sponsors and employers not to renew legal resident identity
cards of non-Muslims whom they had sponsored for employment if it was
discovered or suspected that those individuals had either led,
sponsored, or participated in private non-Muslim worship services.
Additionally, there were reports that religious police pressured
employers and sponsors to reach verbal agreements with non-Muslim
employees that they would not participate in private or public
non-Muslim worship services.\
\
During the month of December the press reported shopkeepers in Riyadh
sold Christmas cards under the counter. During the year the religious
police prohibited the sale of cards and flowers for Valentine\'s Day.\
\
On December 29, the religious police raided a gathering for food and
prayer involving members of the Ahmadiyya religious group. Authorities
consider them non-Muslim and heretical. Reportedly, the religious police
detained 49 members, including approximately 19 women and children and
14 youths. Of the 49 individuals, there were 25 Indians, 23 Pakistanis,
and one Syrian. At year\'s end, all 49 remained in police custody (see
Section 1.d.).\
\
Societal Abuses and Discrimination\
\
There were no public places of worship for non-Muslims. Although
significant numbers of Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists, and a few Jews
resided in the country, there were no public churches, temples, or
synagogues. There were reports of violence against and harassment of
Christians, due to societal discrimination against foreigner workers
coupled with religious discrimination.\
\
There was anti-Semitism and criticism of the policies of the government
of Israel and Zionism in the media. For example, on January 13, an
anti-Semitic cartoon in the Al-Yawm newspaper depicted Jews as thieves,
calling them \"God\'s Cheater People,\" a pun in Arabic on the
expression \"God\'s Chosen People.\"\
\
According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), there was anti-Semitism
in the media characterized by stereotypical images of Jews along with
Jewish symbols, and comparisons of Israeli government actions to those
of the Nazis. For example, on April 24, a cartoon in the Al-Medina
newspaper depicted an Israel Defense Forces tank\'s treads forming a
swastika. According to the ADL, further anti-Semitic material appeared
in the Ar-Riyadh newspaper on February 9 to the effect that \"the only
ones to benefit from inciting strife and wars between the Christian and
Muslim world are the Jews in Europe and in the West. If you do not
believe that, then read the Protocols of the Elders of Zion...\" Another
example provided by the ADL came from an article in the Al-Hayat
newspaper on June 6 comparing the Israeli government actions toward
Palestinians to \"the Nazi manner of killing, starvation, and racial
segregation...\"\
In May Freedom House released a report that stated that its review of
textbooks revealed examples of hate speech and in particular noted that
religious textbooks emphasized intolerance and hatred of religious
traditions, especially Christianity and Judaism. In November the
government announced a multi-year project to revise textbooks,
curricula, and teaching methods to promote tolerance and remove content
disparaging religions other than Islam. Many recently utilized textbooks
still contain language that was blatantly anti-Semitic and intolerant of
Judaism, Christianity, and the Shi\'a tradition (see section 5).\
\
During the year the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue held 13
preparatory meetings throughout the country for the November 30 sixth
national dialogue, which focused on education. According to the
government the dialogue, meetings and preparations promoted tolerance
and understanding, including for non-Muslim religions. During the year
there were articles in local media reminding Muslims that Jews are
\"people of the book,\" that Jewish prophets such as Abraham, Isaac, and
Jesus are shown due respect by Muslims, and that Mary was a Jew and is
due respect by Muslims.\
\
The government took no reported action against anti-Semitic cartoons and
articles which appeared in the media.\
\
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International Religious
Freedom Report.\
\
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration,
and Repatriation\
\
The Basic Law does not provide for these rights. Freedom of movement was
restricted. The government must issue an exit visa for an individual to
leave the country. Male citizens have the freedom to travel within the
country and abroad unless they are under the age of 21, in which case
they require the permission of their guardian if they want to travel
outside the country. The government restricted these rights for women
based on its interpretation of Islamic Law. All women in the country
were prohibited from driving. They must obtain written permission from a
male relative or guardian before the authorities allow travel abroad
(see section 5). The requirement to obtain permission from a male
relative or guardian applied also to foreign women married to citizens
or to minor and single adult daughters of citizen fathers. Since 2001,
women have been able to obtain their own identity cards; however, the
government required permission from a male relative or guardian to
receive a card (see section 5). The government has quietly begun to
issue individual identification cards with a photograph to every female
citizen, terminating the current practice of women carrying family cards
only listing their names. Citizen women who have valid passports can
obtain identity cards without needing verification from a male guardian;
however, if a woman does not have a passport, she needs a male guardian
to verify her identity (see section 5). During the year the government
continued to issue national identity cards to women, despite a national
campaign against the practice by some religious conservatives.\
\
Restrictions on travel applied to dual national children of citizen
fathers. In cases involving custody disputes between foreign citizen
women and their citizen husbands, the husband was legally able to
prevent the travel of the children out of the country. All women,
including adult female citizens, require the written consent of a male
guardian to travel outside the country. The government has worked with
foreign consular officials to overcome a husband\'s refusal to permit
travel by his female children and/or wife or ex-wife. During the year
senior officials considered, on a case-by-case basis, allowing adult
foreign citizen women to travel despite objections by their husbands,
fathers, or other male relatives or guardians. However, government
officials delayed issuing decisions and caused additional burdens and
security concerns to those individuals attempting to leave the kingdom.\
\
Noncitizen women married to citizens required permission from their
husbands or fathers to travel. If a husband refused to grant permission
to travel to his noncitizen wife, she could divorce her husband or not
travel. If she divorced her husband, the government could issue her an
exit visa, but she was unlikely to be allowed to re-enter the country.\
\
Foreigners typically were allowed to reside or work in the country under
the sponsorship of a citizen or business. Media reports in October
announced an easing of this restriction for businessmen.\
\
The government required citizens and foreign residents to carry
identification cards. It did not permit foreigners to change their
workplace without their sponsor\'s permission.\
\
During the year the government continued to provide citizenship under
Article 9 of the law on naturalization to some of the thousands of
native residents who live in the country without possessing
citizenship.\
\
Collectively known as Bidoons (\"without\" in Arabic), these native born
residents lack citizenship due to an ancestor\'s failure to obtain
nationality, including descendents of nomadic tribes such as the Anaiza
and Shammar, some of whose ancestors were not counted among the native
tribes during the reign of the kingdom\'s founder, King Abd al-Aziz;
descendants of foreign born fathers who emigrated to the country before
citizenship was institutionalized; and rural migrants whose parents
failed to register their births. They were denied employment and
educational opportunities because of their lack of citizenship, and had
limited ability to travel. Bidoons are among the poorest residents of
the country because of their marginalized status.\
\
The Basic Law prohibits employers from retaining foreign workers\'
passports; however, in practice most sponsors reportedly retained
possession of foreign workers\' passports. Foreign workers must obtain
permission from their sponsors to travel abroad. If sponsors were
involved in a commercial or labor dispute with foreign employees, they
may ask the authorities to prohibit the employees from departing the
country until the dispute is resolved. In some contract disputes,
sponsors used this as a pressure tactic to resolve disputes in their
favor, forcing employees to accept nominal amounts of the money owed to
them or by having foreign employees deported (see sections 5 and 6.c.).\
\
The government seized the passports of all potential suspects and
witnesses in criminal cases and suspended the issuance of exit visas to
these individuals until the case was concluded. As a result, some
foreign nationals were forced to remain in the country for lengthy
periods against their will.\
\
The government did not use forced exile; however, it previously revoked
the citizenship of opponents of the government who reside outside the
country (see section 3).\
\
Citizens may emigrate. The government prohibited dual citizenship;
however, children who hold other citizenship by virtue of birth abroad
were permitted to leave the country using noncitizen passports. An
October 2005 citizenship law allows certain long-term residents and
other foreigners to obtain citizenship.\
\
The government imposed travel bans on some reformers. The authorities
sometimes confiscated passports of suspected oppositionists and their
families. In addition, the government revoked the rights of some
citizens to travel outside the country. In several cases the government
revoked the right to travel for political reasons without notifying the
individual or providing opportunities to contest the restriction.\
\
During the year there were reports that some Shi\'a activist writers and
other public figures were banned from traveling and the government had
confiscated their passports. However, a Shi\'a professor, who faced a
travel ban for his 2003 criticism of the government\'s discriminatory
policies against the Shi\'a, was allowed to travel.\
\
Protection of Refugees\
\
The Basic Law does not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee
status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status
of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, but the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees. In practice the government
provided protection against refoulement, the forced return of persons to
a country where they feared persecution. The Basic Law provides that
\"the state will grant political asylum, if so required by the public
interest.\"\
\
The government provided temporary protection to individuals who may not
qualify as refugees under the 1951 convention and the 1967 protocol.\
\
The government cooperated with the Office of UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in assisting
refugees and asylum seekers.\
\
The UNHCR Representative Office to the GCC countries reported that in
late 2005 the government permitted 364 Iraqi refugees at the Rafha
refugee camp to reside in urban areas. During the year the UNHCR did not
find any evidence of forcible repatriation. Since 1991 the UNHCR has
facilitated the spontaneous repatriation of more than 8,000 Iraqi
refugees (see section 1.c.). NGOs present in the camp included the Saudi
Red Crescent and the International Islamic Relief Organization. At
year\'s end less than 100 Iraqi refugees remained in the camp.\
\
During the year the UNHCR granted refugee status to 216 people. No one
who is in Saudi Arabia illegally, or has overstayed an umrah or hajj
visa, may be granted refugee status.\
\
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change
Their Government\
\
The Basic Law states that the government is established on the principle
of shura or consultation and requires the king and crown prince to hold
open majlises. (A majlis is an open-door meeting held by the king, a
prince, or an important national or local official where, in theory, any
male citizen or foreign national may express an opinion or a grievance.)
The Basic Law states all individuals have the right to communicate with
public authorities on any issue. This right to petition is interpreted
by the government as a right to be exercised within traditional
nonpublic means, in other words, not through the use of mass media. In
practice, citizens did not have the right to change the government
peacefully. There were restrictions, as demonstrated by the 2005
conviction of the three political reformers convicted of \"sowing
dissent and disobeying the ruler\" and for overtly advocating democratic
reform (see sections 1.e and 2.a.).\
\
Elections and Political Participation\
\
Only a few members of the ruling family had a voice in the choice of
leaders or in changing the political system. On October 20, the king
issued the new succession law which amended the 1992 Basic Law and
formalized the process by creating the Allegiance Commission that will
elect a king and crown prince upon the death or incapacitation of
either. The Allegiance Commission is composed of the sons and grandsons
of Abd al-Aziz bin Abd al-Rahman al-Faysal Al Sa\'ud. This commission
expands the role of the ruling family in the selection process. The
government ruled on civil and religious matters within the limitations
established by the Basic Law, religious law, tradition, and the need to
maintain consensus among the ruling family and religious leaders.\
\
The king serves as prime minister and his crown prince serves as deputy
prime minister. The king appoints all other ministers, who appoint
subordinate officials with cabinet concurrence.\
\
Reportedly, some criticized the limited responsibilities of the
municipal advisory councils that reviewed and provided recommendations
on administrative and budgetary issues. Only male, nonmilitary citizens
of at least 21 years of age could vote in the nationwide 2005 elections
for 592 seats on 178 municipal advisory councils (half of the total
seats). Women were not permitted either to vote or to stand for office.
Unofficial estimates were between 10 and 15 percent of eligible voters
actually voted. The king completed the formation of the councils in
December 2005, by appointing 592 men to fill the other half of the
council seats.\
\
The 1992 Basic Law also created the Consultative Council that reviews,
votes on, and provides recommendations to the king on legislation
proposed by the ministries. The Consultative Council consists of 150
appointed male members and is divided into 11 committees. During the
year the council appointed six women as part-time consultants on matters
of family and women\'s issues. The government generally accepted
amendments made by the council. The Consultative Council held hearings
with some government officials to review the performance of their
ministries and has the power to request documents from government
ministries.\
\
On June 27, for the first time, the Consultative Council rejected a
proposed government policy to raise the salaries of members of the
religious police.\
\
The Supreme Ulema Council is another advisory body to the king and the
cabinet (see section 1.e.). It reviews the government\'s public policies
for compliance with Shari\'a. The government viewed the council as an
important source of religious legitimacy and took the council\'s
opinions into account when promulgating legislation.\
\
Communication between citizens and the government traditionally has been
expressed through client-patron relationships and by affinity groups
such as tribes, families, and professional hierarchies. During the year
King Abdullah visited all 13 provinces and held a variety of meetings
with citizens throughout the country, including women. Ministers and
district governors could be approached for discussion at a majlis, which
were held on a regular basis.\
\
Since 1992 various groups, including women and Shi\'a, have submitted
petitions calling for reform.\
\
During the year three groups led by exiles advocated for a change in
government. On April 30, the London-based Movement for Islamic Reform in
Arabia (MIRA) brought its satellite Islah TV back on air using the
hot-bird satellite after years of having been blocked because of
government pressure on the French satellite provider. Since its
establishment in 1996, MIRA has claimed it advocates the peaceful
overthrow of the royal family. The head of MIRA and host of Islah TV,
Saad Al-Fagih, was a supporter of terrorism and provided financial and
material support to al Qa\'ida and Usama bin Laden. Previously, MIRA and
the London-based extremist Committee for the Defense of Legitimate
Rights (CDLR) had advocated overthrowing the monarchy by force. MIRA and
the CDLR criticized the government, using the Internet and satellite
radio stations. On August 11, MIRA unsuccessfully tried to spark
protests in the country. In October 2004, MIRA and CDLR also attempted
to organize from London protests within the country but were
unsuccessful largely due to their unpopularity with the public (see
sections 1.d. and 2.b.).\
\
On August 9, a Paris-based group, the Saudi Democratic Opposition Front
(SDOF), announced its formation and called for the peaceful overthrow of
the monarchy. It claimed a \"desire for democracy\" and an enhancement
in liberties in society. The SDOF stated it will coordinate its
activities with other opponents of the government, chiefly MIRA. The
SDOF is led by 72-year-old Prince Talal Mohammed Al-Rashid, the son of
the last ruler of the Rashidi emirate whose capital was in Hail.
Al-Rashid has lived in exile in France since 1980. There was no
subsequent reported activity by this group.\
\
There were no women or religious minorities in the cabinet. At least
four of the 150-member Consultative Council were Shi\'a.\
\
Government Corruption and Transparency\
\
There was a widespread public perception of corruption on the part of
some members of the royal family and the executive branch of the
government. In the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions
ranking of countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is
perceived to exist among public officials and politicians, the kingdom
was considered to have a serious corruption problem.\
\
The absence of transparency in government accounts and in decision
making encouraged this perception. There are no laws providing for
public access to government information. Information concerning specific
instances, allegations regarding corruption, or government actions
against corruption was not available to the public, although allegations
were known to those with access to foreign media.\
\
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations\
of Human Rights\
\
The government viewed its interpretation of Islamic law as the only
necessary guide to protect human rights. The MOI licenses and monitors
compliance with rules and regulations by NGOs, including professional
associations, charities, and social organizations. The two licensed
domestic human rights organizations operated in a restricted ambit,
reliant on government support. The one nonlicensed human rights
organization, HRFS, operated without legal status.\
\
On a number of occasions, the local media quoted HRFS president Ibrahim
Al-Mugaiteeb and reported on HRFS operations. After having previously
been deprived of his passport, Al-Mugaiteeb made several trips into and
out of the country. He was also made a member of the HRC.\
\
The NSHR, which was originally endowed by King Fahd, continued to
receive requests for assistance and complaints about the government.
Since its creation in March 2004, the NSHR has received approximately
7,000 complaints. Most of its members are academics, and two of its
former members are ministers (social affairs, and education). Ten of its
41 members were women. The NSHR has established offices in Jeddah,
Dammam, Riyadh, and Jizan. By year\'s end it claimed to have handled
more than 6,000 complaints, international as well as domestic, including
\"political injustices, administrative corruption, and reports by
expatriate workers alleging abuse.\" The NSHR prefers to resolve cases
by working with government agencies rather than filing court cases. The
NSHR reported government officials cooperated with requests for
information and action to resolve complaints.\
\
On December 25, King Abdullah announced the appointment of the 24
members of the HRC board of directors. This specialized government
organization has broad powers and reports directly to the king.
Headquartered in Riyadh, the HRC was designed to protect, raise
awareness of, and ensure the implementation of human rights in line with
Shari\'a rule. The HRC chairman has ministerial rank.\
\
Section 5 Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons\
\
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, but not nationality.
Racial discrimination occurred. There is legal and systemic
discrimination based on gender. The government and private organizations
cooperated in providing services for persons with disabilities; however,
there is no legislation mandating public access. The Shi\'a minority
continued to suffer social, legal, economic, and political
discrimination (see section 2.c.).\
\
Women\
\
Shari\'a prohibits abuse and violence against all innocent persons,
including women. Although the government did not keep statistics on
spousal abuse or other forms of violence against women, reportedly such
violence and abuse were common problems. Hospital workers reported many
women were admitted for treatment of injuries apparently the result of
spousal violence. Even though hospitals are now required to report any
suspicious injuries to authorities, they are not appropriately trained
to meet this requirement.\
\
Foreign embassies received many reports that employers abused foreign
women working as domestic servants. Some embassies with large domestic
servant populations maintained safe houses for citizens fleeing work
situations that included forced confinement, withholding of food,
nonpayment of salaries, beating, physical abuse, and rape. Often female
citizens were accused of committing many of the reported abuses (see
section 5, Trafficking in Persons).\
\
During the year the media reported more frequently on cases involving
domestic abuse of women, servants, and children. Over 500 cases were
reported. There were more reports about employers punished for abuse of
domestic servants.\
\
On August 19, the daily tabloid Al-Shams published a two-page
investigative report on girls fleeing their homes due to domestic
violence. The girls usually went to one of the social care houses, where
they may be abused by supervisors. Some girls committed suicide because
of mistreatment and the fear of being sent back to their families.\
\
On August 20, ASharq Al-Awsat reported that the kingdom took actual
steps to establish courts dealing with domestic violence. Specialists
and activists against domestic violence called for increasing the number
of social care houses and developing their services in order to protect
victims.\
\
The justice ministry acknowledged the large scale of the problem. The
social affairs ministry\'s department of social protection conducted a
study on domestic abuse in order to draft appropriate laws to protect
women and children. The social affairs ministry also reportedly
coordinated with other ministries to raise awareness. Nevertheless, the
government considered such cases generally to be family matters and did
not intervene unless charges of abuse were brought to its attention.
Increasingly, the NSHR investigated and instigated court cases against
allegations of physical and sexual abuse. These cases usually involved
abuse by a husband or father. The NSHR advocated for tougher laws and
sentences for abuse. It was difficult for noncitizen women to obtain
redress in the courts due to the courts\' strict evidentiary rules, and
the women and servants\' own fear of reprisals.\
\
Prostitution is illegal. However, some women (and men), primarily
noncitizens, reportedly engaged in prostitution. The extent of
prostitution was not known.\
\
Law and custom discriminated against women. Although they have the right
to own property and are entitled to financial support from husbands or
male relatives, women have few political or social rights and were not
treated as equal members of society. There were no active women\'s
rights groups per se. Women\'s rights were openly discussed during the
Gulf Businesswomen\'s Forum and in the National Dialogue forums from
April 3 to 5 in which women participated. NSHR also addressed various
women\'s rights issues. Women may not legally drive motor vehicles and
were restricted in their use of public facilities when men were present.
Women must enter city buses by separate rear entrances and sit in
specially designated sections. Women risked arrest by the religious
police for riding in a vehicle driven by a male who was not an employee
or a close male relative.\
\
The law provides that women may not be admitted to a hospital for
medical treatment without the consent of a male relative; however, this
was not generally enforced. According to law and custom, women may not
undertake domestic or foreign travel alone (see section 2.d.).\
\
All women require the permission (for an \"exit visa\") of a citizen
male to travel, usually the husband or the father though sometimes the
eldest son or eldest brother. This applies to all women, including
noncitizen spouses of citizen men. Children, including dual national
children, also require travel authorizations by a citizen male, and
males under the age of 21 require the father\'s consent for issuance of
their first passports. If a husband refuses to grant permission to
travel to his wife, including noncitizen wives, the wife cannot travel.
For noncitizen wives, in order to depart the country the only
alternative is to divorce the husband, in which case the government
could issue her an exit visa. In this case, if the woman has children
she would not be allowed to take them with her, and it is unlikely she
would be allowed to re-enter the country.\
\
In public, a woman was expected to wear an abaya (a black garment that
covers the entire body) and also to cover her head and hair. The
religious police generally expected Muslim women to cover their faces
and non-Muslim women from other Asian and African countries to comply
more fully with local customs of dress than non-Muslim Western women.
During the year religious police admonished and harassed citizen and
noncitizen women who failed to wear an abaya and hair cover.\
\
Women were also subject to discrimination under Shari\'a as interpreted
by the government, which stipulates daughters receive half the
inheritance awarded to their brothers. While Shari\'a provides women
with a basis to own and dispose of property independently, women were
often constrained from asserting such rights because of various legal
and societal barriers, especially regarding employment and freedom of
movement. In a Shari\'a court, the testimony of one man equals that of
two women (see section 1.e.). Although Islamic law permits as many as
four wives, polygamy was less common due to demographic and economic
changes. Islamic law enjoins a man to treat each wife equally. In
practice, such equality was left to the discretion of the husband. The
government placed greater restrictions on women than on men regarding
marriage to noncitizens and non-Muslims (see section 1.f.).\
\
Women had to demonstrate legally specified grounds for divorce, but men
may divorce without giving cause. In doing so, men were required to
immediately pay an amount of money agreed upon at the time of the
marriage, which serves as a one-time alimony payment. Women who
demonstrate legal grounds for divorce also were entitled to this
alimony. Some women claimed their husbands refused to sign the final
divorce papers, leaving the women in a state of limbo, unable to travel,
obtain a business license, attend a university or college, or seek
hospital care. If divorced or widowed, a Muslim woman normally may keep
her children until they attain a specified age: seven years for boys and
nine years for girls. Custody of children over these ages was awarded to
the divorced husband or the deceased husband\'s family. Numerous
divorced foreign women continued to be prevented by their former
husbands from visiting their children after divorce.\
\
Women had access to free but segregated education through the university
level. They constituted more than 58 percent of all university students
but were limited to studying such subjects as engineering, journalism,
and architecture. Approximately 5 to 7 percent of government
scholarships for studying overseas are given to women. Men may study
overseas; the law provides that women may do so only if accompanied by a
spouse or male guardian. The government paid the fees for a male
guardian (or in some cases an older female guardian) to accompany female
Saudi students on scholarships. In practice families rather than legal
requirements decided whether women studied overseas without a guardian.\
\
During the year there was increased attention in the press to women\'s
issues, including gender discrimination, domestic abuse, health, rising
divorce rates, employment, driving, and legal problems women face in the
business world. Six women advised members of the Consultative Council
(see section 3). Other women provided advice in private, closed-door
sessions or through female members of the royal family. The two women
elected to the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce continued to guide this
organization. In February women also ran as candidates for the board of
directors of the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry;
however, none were elected. The woman elected to the board of directors
of the Saudi Engineers Council continued to guide the organization. On
June 30, the Jeddah Literary Club held its first literary and cultural
event for women.\
\
Most employment opportunities for women were in education and health
care. Despite limited educational opportunities in many professional
fields, some female citizens were able to study abroad and returned to
work in professions such as architecture and journalism. The justice
ministry agreed to license female lawyers who had previously been unable
to practice law even though they had completed law degrees abroad or
worked in law firms outside the country. Female lawyers, however, may
not represent clients in court. Many foreign women worked as domestic
servants and nurses.\
\
In August the Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued regulations
allowing female engineers to open their own engineering offices. One
female engineer opened her own engineering office a few weeks after this
decision.\
\
Women who wished to enter nontraditional fields were subject to
discrimination. Women may not accept jobs in rural areas if there are no
adult male relatives present with whom they may reside and who agree to
take responsibility for them. Most workplaces in which women were
present were segregated by gender. Frequently, contact with a male
supervisor or client was allowed only by video conference, telephone, or
fax machine. However, the degree of segregation varied by region, with
the central region having the most restrictions and the eastern and
western regions more relaxed. Despite gender segregation, the law
provides women the right to obtain business licenses for work in fields
that might require supervision of foreign workers, interact with male
clients, or deal on a regular basis with government officials.\
\
While there is no law prohibiting women from obtaining licenses to open
businesses, they face many obstacles. Applications for licenses in most
sectors were denied because most governing ministries did not have
women\'s sections that could monitor the business. Even though the
commerce ministry abolished the requirement for a woman to have a male
representative with her whenever conducting business transactions with
the government, reportedly many government agencies still insisted on
this requirement.\
\
In hospital settings and in the energy industry, women and men worked
together, and, in some instances, women supervised male employees.
During the year the government allowed female citizen radio news
broadcasters to work for the first time. The September 2005 labor law
expanded the right of women to maternity leave and required employers to
provide child care if they employed 50 or more female employees.\
\
Children\
\
The government provided all citizen children with free education and
medical care. Children were segregated by gender in schools, usually
beginning at the age of 7; however, schools were integrated through the
fourth grade, or around the ages of 10 and 11, in some areas.\
\
Abuse of children was a problem, although it was difficult to gauge the
prevalence of child abuse, since the government kept no national
statistics on such cases. Although in general the culture greatly prizes
children, studies by citizen female doctors indicated that severe abuse
and neglect of children appeared to be more widespread than previously
reported. At least three NGOs, one in Riyadh, one in Qasim, and one in
Jeddah, run shelters for women and children. The press has also raised
national consciousness about the problem.\
\
The education ministry continued to teach children their rights under
the UN Convention on the Rights of Children.\
\
During the year there were reports that the government discriminated
against noncitizen children on the basis of national origin, denying
them access to education and emergency health care. HRW reported the
government targeted Chadian children that had been born in Saudi
Arabia.\
\
Trafficking in Persons\
\
There is no specific antitrafficking law. However, most forms of
trafficking are criminalized under existing statutes. A 2004 ministerial
decree specifically prohibits all forms of trafficking. The government
issued implementing regulations for the September 2005 labor law.
Domestic laborers are not protected under the country\'s labor law. The
majority of cases involving trafficking were settled out of court by
mediation and settlements, and criminal prosecutions against abusive
employers were few.\
\
The country is a destination country for workers from Bangladesh, India,
Indonesia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. Some foreign workers were
subjected to conditions which constituted involuntary servitude,
including nonpayment of wages, debt bondage, confinement, and physical
or psychological intimidation. Cases of physical and sexual abuse were
also reported. Domestic employees were especially vulnerable to abuse.
Children were also reportedly trafficked into begging rings.\
\
The government took minimal measures to protect trafficking victims. Due
to a lack of victim identification procedures in deportation centers and
police stations, it is believed that many victims of trafficking are
deported or arrested rather than afforded sensitive protection services.
Some victims were protected at one of three shelters run by the Ministry
of Social Affairs operating in Riyadh, Dammam, and Jeddah, but most
victims feared arrest or deportation if approaching government
authorities due to their status as runaways (technically illegal); as
such, most victims fled directly to their respective embassies to await
repatriation.\
\
The government reportedly assists some trafficking victims with shelter,
access to legal and medical services, and temporary residency status,
which includes temporary relief from deportation. Trafficking victims
are reportedly treated at public hospitals.\
\
Foreign laborers\', including domestic workers\', passports were often
illegally retained by their employers sometimes resulting in forced
labor. Foreign nationals who have been recruited abroad have, after
their arrival in the country, been presented with work contracts that
specified lower wages and fewer benefits than originally promised. A
small number of noncitizen women were thought to engage in prostitution,
comprising a minor element of the trafficking problem in the kingdom
(see sections 5, 6.c., and 6.e.).\
\
Most victims prefer to settle their cases out of court due to the length
of time it takes to receive a judgment and a perception of bias toward
citizens of the country by the judicial system. On August 9, a Filipina
maid fled her sponsor after allegedly enduring seven months of physical
abuse. The police arrested her sponsor who confessed and paid an
out-of-court settlement of approximately \$8,000 (30,000 SR). On
September 12, an Indonesian maid was allegedly beaten by her sponsor\'s
wife. She settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. On November 6,
nine Nepalese women who claimed to have suffered physical and verbal
abuse during their employment as maids in the country were repatriated
to Nepal.\
\
On August 26, Al-Shams presented an investigative report entitled
\"Girls for Sale\" claiming trafficking of Yemeni girls into the country
had increased recently. Allegedly, trafficking gangs were bringing the
girls to marry men illegally. \"Marriage matcher\" Um Mohammed said she
looks for men seeking a Yemeni girl and charges \$2,666 (10,000 SR).
Trafficking takes two forms: men travel to Yemen, select their
prospective wives, then smuggle them into the country for \$1,333 (5,000
SR); or gangs smuggle Yemeni girls into the country for marriage at
\$2,666 (10,000 SR).\
\
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs heads a multi-agency working group on
combating trafficking in persons. The group includes representation from
the Ministries of Labor, Interior, Justice, Culture and Information,
Hajj, and the Human Rights Commission.\
\
There were no reports of government or police involvement in trafficking
during the year.\
\
The government uses the media to educate the public about foreign
workers\' rights and trafficking in persons.\
\
The government published a brochure outlining noncitizen worker\'s
rights and obligations, as well as contact information for seeking help
and assistance. The brochure was distributed to foreign embassies and
was available at ports of entry.\
\
Persons with Disabilities\
\
There is no legislation that mandates public accessibility; however,
newer commercial buildings often included such access, as did some newer
government buildings. The provision of government social services
increasingly brought persons with disabilities into the public
mainstream. The law provides hiring quotas for persons with
disabilities. The government and private charitable organizations
cooperated in education, employment, and other services for persons with
disabilities.\
\
During the year the government took a variety of steps promoting more
rights for and elimination of discrimination against persons with
disabilities. The government established an endowment committee for
children with disabilities and a supreme council to deal with the
affairs of the disabled, with the crown prince as chairman. Foreign
criminal rings reportedly imported children with disabilities for the
purpose of forced begging (see sections 5, 6.c. and 6.f.). There were
numerous government-sponsored centers for persons with disabilities,
including organizations for children with Down syndrome and autism.
Disabled persons, however, were still hidden away from society and even
family.\
\
Police generally transported persons with mental disabilities found
wandering alone in public to their families or a hospital. Police
asserted that, according to Islam, family members should be taking care
of such individuals.\
\
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities\
\
Although racial discrimination is illegal, there was substantial
societal prejudice based on ethnic or national origin. Foreign workers
from Africa and Asia were subject to various forms of formal and
informal discrimination and had the most difficulty in obtaining justice
for their grievances. For example, some bilateral agreements governed
pay, benefits, and work conditions. Consequently, pay scales for
identical or similar labor or professional services were set by
nationality such that two similarly qualified and experienced foreign
nationals performing the same employment duties received varied
compensation based on their nationalities.\
\
Throughout the year the media reported on married couples forced to
divorce by their in-laws or others because either the husband or wife
was from \"inappropriate lineage,\" i.e., a nontribal family or from an
inferior tribe. For example, the half brothers of Fatima Al-Timani
successfully filed for the divorce of Fatima and her husband Mansour
Al-Timani because they claimed Mansour had lied about his inferior
tribal lineage. At year\'s end his appeal of the divorce was before a
Riyadh court. In July she chose imprisonment rather than living with her
half brothers or in a shelter. After the divorce, prison officials
forbade him from visiting her because the court had voided their
marriage. At year\'s end the case remained before the courts.\
\
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination\
\
Under Shari\'a as interpreted in the kingdom, sexual activity between
two people of the same gender is punishable by death or flogging. It is
illegal for men to behave like women or wear women\'s clothes and for
women to wear men\'s clothes (see section 1.c.). There were reports of
societal discrimination based on sexual orientation.\
\
There were reports of discrimination, physical violence, and harassment
toward homosexuals.\
\
On August 16, the media reported that 250 young men were detained and
subsequently 20 were arrested at a suspected \"gay wedding\" in Jizan.\
\
On November 7, the media reported that police arrested five men on
November 2 for preparing to stage a beauty contest for homosexual men.
The five men had previously been arrested in May for the same offense.
The police confiscated evaluation sheets, beauty products, make-up,
lingerie, sex toys, and aphrodisiacs. The media also reported that
several months before this incident, 92 men had been arrested at a gay
party in Al-Qatif for wearing women\'s clothes, make-up, and wigs. At
year\'s end none of these men had been sentenced.\
\
According to a December 23 press report, during the year a journalist
was arrested for \"harboring destructive thoughts\" and accused of
promoting homosexuality by commenting on Internet fora that
homosexuality is caused by genetics. The case was dismissed. The lawyer
who defended the journalist was criticized for being a \"lawyer for
homosexuals.\"\
\
Beginning in June the NSHR held meetings to prepare a proposal for a
system to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and protect HIV/AIDS patients
in the kingdom. The media reported that there are 11,000 people living
with AIDS in the country. Although the media continued to discourage
discrimination against AIDS patients and those infected with HIV, the
press reported that the government failed to provide proper medical
treatment to HIV-positive noncitizens and treated them poorly until
their deportation. The Ministry of Health set up three HIV centers that
provided diagnostic and preventive services. In September the media
reported medical staff refused to attend to a pregnant HIV-positive
woman, causing her to miscarry.\
\
Incitement to Acts of Discrimination\
\
The government worked to review and revise school textbooks used at
schools which it maintains inside and outside the kingdom to eliminate
intolerant and discriminatory language that promotes racial or ethnic
hatred or incited violence against any racial or ethnic group (see
section 2.c.).\
\
Section 6 Worker Rights\
\
a. The Right of Association\
\
The Basic Law does not address freedom of association. The government
prohibited the establishment of labor unions; however, since 2001, the
government has authorized the establishment of labor committees for
citizens in local companies, including factories, with more than 100
employees. However, no practical steps have been taken to implement this
decision.\
\
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively\
\
Neither the 1992 Basic Law nor the 2005 Labor Law provide for collective
bargaining. Collective bargaining remained prohibited. Foreign workers
comprised approximately 88 percent of the work force in the private
sector.\
\
There are no export processing zones.\
\
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor\
\
The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor. The law prohibits
employers from retaining foreign employees\' passports without the
employees\' consent. This law was not well known or enforced, so it was
frequently violated. This practice sometimes resulted in forced labor,
especially in remote areas where workers were unable to leave their
places of work and cannot legally travel without an identity card. In
addition some sponsors prevented foreign workers from obtaining exit
visas to pressure them into signing a new work contract or to drop
claims against their employer for unpaid salary or benefits (see section
2.d.). Finally, some sponsors refused to provide foreign workers with a
\"letter of no objection\" that would allow them to be employed by
another sponsor.\
\
There were many reports of workers whose employers refused to pay
several months, or even years, of accumulated salary or other promised
benefits. Many foreign workers went to labor courts, which regularly
ruled in favor of the workers. Labor courts, while generally fair,
sometimes took many months to reach a final appellate ruling. Often
noncitizen workers engaged in a court case against their employers
cannot legally work, placing an additional burden on the worker and
compelling a negotiated settlement. Employers sometimes delayed cases
until a worker\'s funds were exhausted, and the worker was forced to
withdraw his case (see section 5).\
\
The labor ministry established the department for protection of foreign
workers to address abuse and exploitation of foreign workers (such as
sexual harassment, mistreatment, and nonpayment of salaries). Workers
may also submit complaints and seek help from the 37 labor ministry
offices throughout the country.\
\
In the first six months of the year, the labor minister banned 75
companies from obtaining labor visas. Companies were banned for trading
in visas, nonpayment of employee wages, and for a variety of other
reasons.\
\
The law does not specifically prohibit forced or compulsory labor by
children, and there were a few reports that it occurred (see section
6.d.).\
\
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment\
\
Child labor did not appear to be a problem, with the possible rare
exceptions of forced child begging rings, and possibly family
businesses. The government implemented a regulation requiring that all
camel jockeys be at least 18 years of age, and there were indications it
was enforced.\
\
Under a new labor law, no juvenile under the age of 15 can work in a
vocational field unless he is the only family worker. There is no
minimum age for workers employed in family-owned businesses or in other
areas that are construed as extensions of the household, such as
farming, herding, and domestic service.\
\
Children under the age of 18 may not be employed in hazardous or harmful
industries, such as mining, or industries employing power-operated
machinery. While there is no formal government entity responsible for
enforcing the minimum age for employment of children, the justice
ministry has jurisdiction and has acted as plaintiff in the few cases
that have arisen against alleged violators. In general children played a
minimal role in the work force.\
\
Child beggars were reportedly often noncitizens who had been trafficked
into the country for that purpose or were Hajj or Umra over-stayers. The
social affairs ministry maintained special offices in both Mecca and
Medina to combat the growing problem of child beggars.\
\
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work\
\
While there is no official minimum wage for citizen workers, the
unofficial private sector minimum wage was \$400 (1,500 SR) per month,
which is based on the minimum monthly contribution to the pension
system. For noncitizen workers, there was no official minimum wage.
Where they exist, bilateral agreements set wages for noncitizen workers.
Individual contracts also set wages that varied according to the type of
work performed and the nationality of the worker (see section 5).\
\
Labor regulations establish a 48-hour work week at regular pay and allow
employers to require up to 12 additional hours of overtime at
time-and-a-half pay. Labor law provides for a 24 hour rest period,
normally on Fridays, although the employer may grant it on another day.
The labor law increased annual leave for citizen employees from 14 to 21
days and provided a minimum six-week maternity leave for female citizen
employees and new requirements to provide child care at places of
employment. The average wage for citizens generally provided a decent
standard of living for the worker and family.\
\
Sources produced varying estimates of the actual rate of citizen
unemployment. The minister of labor stated the unemployment rate was 5
percent (because very few citizens enrolled in a recent job placement
program). The National Statistics Bureau claimed unemployment was 9.6
percent. Some bankers believed the unemployment rate was 20 percent, and
a prominent royal and business leader recently stated the number was
closer to 30 percent. None of these estimates included women, who are
prohibited from working in the majority of business sectors and
positions. On May 10, the media reported that the General Organization
for Technical Education and Vocational Training (GOTEVOT) reported it
had 6,971 female trainees for cashiering, receptionist, and other
\"appropriate\" vocational areas and had trained over 10,000 as a
practical step to add women to the workforce. In September GOTEVOT
reported it opened a number of colleges for women in the country.\
\
Approximately 80 percent of all working citizens worked directly for the
government. Indirectly, nearly all citizens worked for the government in
one way or another if those working for parastatals, such as Saudi
Arabian Airlines and Saudi Aramco, were included. According to the
government, citizen workers accounted for only 12 percent, less than
800,000 of the approximately 6.76 million persons employed in the
private sector; foreign nationals held the remaining 88 percent of the
jobs (see section 6.b.).\
\
Labor regulations require employers to protect most workers from
job-related hazards and disease. However, foreign nationals reported
frequent failures to enforce health and safety standards. Farmers,
herdsmen, domestic servants, and workers in family-operated businesses
were not covered by these regulations.\
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Foreign nationals who have been recruited abroad have, after their
arrival in the country, been presented with work contracts that
specified lower wages and fewer benefits than originally promised. Other
foreign workers have signed contracts in their home countries and later
were pressured to sign less favorable contracts upon arrival. Some
employees reported that, at the end of their contract service, their
employers refused to grant permission to allow them to return home.
Recognizing this issue, the authorities have created a booklet on
foreign workers\' rights that was distributed at ports of entry and
foreign embassies in the country.\
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The labor laws, including those designed to limit working hours and
regulate working conditions, did not apply to foreign domestic servants,
who may not seek the protection of the labor courts. However, the
bilateral labor agreements stipulate work conditions which provide for
one day of rest per week. There were credible reports that female
domestic servants were sometimes forced to work 16 to 20 hours per day,
seven days per week. There were numerous confirmed reports of maids
fleeing employers and seeking refuge in their embassies or consulates
(see section 5). Foreign embassies continued to receive reports of
employers abusing domestic servants. Such abuse included withholding of
food, beatings, other physical abuse, and rape (see section 5).\
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The government has established welfare shelters to house female domestic
servants who flee their place of work. The government offered
arbitration between the worker and employer and investigated allegations
of abuse. Allegations were either settled in court or through
negotiation.\
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The campaign to remove illegal immigrants from the country did little to
reduce unemployment or to increase the number of jobs held by citizens.
Illegal immigrants worked in positions that most citizens considered
unworthy. The government carried out the campaign to remove the illegal
aliens by widely publicizing its enforcement of existing laws against
both the illegal aliens and the citizens employing or sponsoring them.\
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The expeditious repatriation of some illegal immigrants and the
legalization of others improved overall working conditions for legally
employed foreigners. Illegal immigrants generally were willing to accept
lower salaries and fewer benefits than legally employed immigrants. The
departure or legalization of illegal workers reduced the competition for
certain jobs and thereby reduced the incentive for legal immigrants to
accept lower wages and fewer benefits. Furthermore, their departure or
legalization removed a large portion of the class of workers most
vulnerable to abuse and exploitation because of their illegal status.