Saudi ArabiaI.

Introduction

Saudi Arabia is the country with the largest land area in the Middle East (1,960,582 km² 14th in the world) and is home to 27,019,000 people (relatively low density as most of theland is uninhabited desert). The capital Riyadh has a population of 4,193,000. Foreign
workers constitute a very large proportion of the population. An estimated 10 million
people of non-Saudi ethnicity who are residents but not citizens of the kingdom, originate
mostly from other Arab countries and Asia. Foreign nationals have varied religious
backgrounds, while the native population is all Muslim (85% Sunni, 15% Shia) andethnically Arab. There is a small minority of remaining Bedouin desert tribes.
Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy where all legislative and executive power isconcentrated in the hands of the King and the royal family. The King appoints a Council ofMinisters accountable to him. There are no political parties or free and fair elections. The
1992 Basic Law confirms the hereditary nature of the monarchy, as well as proclaiming theKoran to be the country’s constitution and the Sharia its law. The official ideology isWahabism, which according to John Esposito and some other scholars is among the mostconservative forms of Sunni Islam.1 The country has formally been in a state of war with
Israel since its creation in 1948.
Saudi Arabia has the world’s largest petroleum reserves and more than half of its economy
is based on oil trading. Its GDP per capita ($13,800 in 2007) is high for the region and one of
the reasons the country’s Human Development Index places it in the medium 76th place inthe world distribution. It scores low on indicators of educational achievement, especiallyenrollment rates (58.6%), but this is compensated with the high GDP levels.2 Life
expectancy at birth is 72 years and the rate of literacy is 79%.

II.

Disadvantaged Groups

Women are severely and legally discriminated against in the kingdom. This affects all
aspects of their lives, including education, employment and family. Women make up 10%3of the workforce (the lowest proportion in the world), as there are numerous restrictions
on the jobs they can do in order to prevent their direct contact with men. All institutions,public or private, are sex-segregated (schools, hospitals, restaurants). Women cannot be
examined by a male doctor, travel abroad or leave the house without their husband/maleguardian’s permission. Women are not allowed to drive or ride bicycles and there is aCommittee to Promote Virtue and Prevent Vice (a governmental entity commonly known as
the "religious police") to enforce a dress code, with severe punishments in place. As Saudi
criminal law is based on conservative Islamic principles, women face harsher treatment
than men in the justice system. They cannot testify in court except when testimony relates
1 John L. Esposito, What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam, p.50 For another report see

http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS21695.pdf
2 http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_SAU.html
3

http://www.undp.org.sa/News%20&%20Events/2005/UN%20Week/Women%20&%20MDGs%20
Reading%20kit/Final-Report/English.pdf

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to a matter that occurred in the absence of men, and even then their testimony is regarded
as non-factual. These laws make women particularly vulnerable to assault and/or rape,since the criminal justice system always places greater weight on the testimony of theperpetrator. Sharia family law contains a number of discriminatory provisions relating tomarriage, inheritance, custody and divorce. Abortion is allowed only during a limited periodof time when there is a proven risk to the mother’s life and subject to a medical committee’s
approval.4 The UN’s Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) indicates the extent to which
women participate in economic and political life, and Saudi Arabia scores 92nd of 93
countries for which measurements have been made, indicating that the level of women
empowerment is extremely low.5
Non-Muslims (mostly migrant workers) are severely discriminated against. They may not
testify in court and are expected to adhere to strict Muslim principles. Foreign women areexpected to dress according to the mandatory dress code and not leave the houseunaccompanied. Violators face caning, harassment and fines. Since the only officiallyrecognised religion is Islam, non-Muslims may not practice their religion in public, assemble
to worship or proselytize. (Proselytizing can be the distribution of any kind of religious nonIslamic materials, including Bibles). Apostasy (converting from Islam to another faith) is
punishable by death. One of the functions of the "religious police" is to ensure that both
Saudi citizens and expatriates adhere to Islamic morals. During the fasting month ofRamadan, all eating, drinking or smoking in public is prohibited. At any time of the year,
eating pork and drinking alcohol is forbidden and these laws are rigorously enforced by the“religious police”. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in its 2003
observations expressed concern about the existence of substantial prejudice against
migrant workers, particularly those originating from non-Muslim backgrounds in Asia andAfrica.6
Saudi Arabia reportedly practices open anti-Semitism. Authors of a report published in2006 by Freedom House’s Center for Religious Freedom and the Institute for Gulf Affairs7
examined textbooks used for instruction in Saudi schools. They found, among other things,
that some texts contained “instruction that ‘the struggle between Muslims and Jews’ willcontinue ‘until the hour [of judgment]’ and that ‘Muslims will triumph because they areright’”. 8 Examined textbooks also: “[T]each the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as historicalfact and relate modern events to it. Discuss Jews in violent terms, blaming them for virtually
all the ‘subversion’ and wars of the modern world.” 9Refugees from Palestine and Iraq are denied citizenship rights and live in camps in substandard conditions, as well as discrimination in employment.10 Their number is estimatedat 310,913 (including 70,000 stateless persons) by the UNHCR. The country is not party toeither the 1951 Convention or the 1967 Protocol relating to the status of refugees.11

4 http://annualreview.law.harvard.edu/population/abortion/SAUDIARABIA.abo.htm
5 http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_SAU.html
6 http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/CERD.C.62.CO.8.En?Opendocument
7 http://www.hudson.org/files/publications/CRF_SaudiReport_2006.pdf
8 Ibid. p. 14
9 Ibid.
10 http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/CERD.C.62.CO.8.En?Opendocument
11 http://www.unhcr.org/statistics/STATISTICS/4641bebf11.pdf

2Members of the Shia minority are subjected to officially-sanctioned political and economic
discrimination. Very few of them hold positions in the government or armed forces. The
Government restricts Shia employment in the oil and petroleum industry and discriminates
against them through unofficial restrictions on the number of Shia students admitted touniversities and important positions. The testimony of Shias in court is given less weight
than that of Sunnis. Most of their religious celebrations are not permitted and those that arepermitted are monitored by the police. Shia religious books and proselytizing are banned.
Anyone who has the misfortune of having to go through Saudi Arabia’s criminal justicesystem (and who does not have a way to buy himself out12) is placed at a severe
disadvantage. Those who are detained, according to numerous independent reports, are at
risk of been routinely tortured and face harsh penalties including death (sometimes byexecution in public), amputations and flogging (the number of lashes is left to the discretionof the judge). Sentences can consist of several thousand lashes in public, leading to severe
physical and mental traumas, for which no medical help is offered.13 There are many
reports of suspects being held for an unlimited time in incommunicado detention.14 The
recently (since terrorist attacks on the US in 2001) adopted anti-terrorist legislation has
contributed to extended detention times and accusations of wide-spread torture ofdetainees.15
People of different sexual orientation face legal discrimination, since any sexual activity
outside of a heterosexual marriage is considered illegal. Punishments for homosexuality orbeing involved with anything connected to gay rights range from imprisonment,deportation (for foreigners), lashes, and for repeat offenders - execution. In 2000 the Saudi
government reported that it had sentenced 9 men to long jail terms with lashing for thecrime of cross-dressing and homosexuality16.
People infected with HIV/AIDS are by law entitled to free medical care and protection fromdiscrimination, and the Saudi government has published educational programs and adopted
policies to combat the spread of the virus. However, the social stigma attached to thoseaffected is very strong, so most hospitals decline to treat infected patients and many schools
are reluctant to distribute information about the disease. According to the government,
more than 10,000 Saudi citizens are infected; unofficial sources put the number at 80,000.
Foreigners, however, are not entitled to any medical care or protection and are deported totheir country of origin as soon as deemed fit to travel. Anyone applying for a residence
permit must supply proof of their HIV-negative status.
III.

The Law

1. International Law
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has acceded to the International Convention against Torturein 1997, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination in 1997, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
12 http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&country=7265&year=2007
13 http://hrw.org/englishwr2k7/docs/2007/01/11/saudia14717.htm
14 http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/CAT.C.CR.28.5.En?Opendocument
15 http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&country=7265&year=2007
16 http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/saudi_arabia/saudinews02.htm

3against Women in 2000 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1996. Saudi Arabia
has not acceded to any of the optional protocols. It has ratified 15 of the ILO’s Conventions,
including C111 Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention and C100 Equal
Remuneration Convention.
It has also ratified the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime ofGenocide, 1948; The Four Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the 1977 Protocols
Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949; and the UNESCO Conventionagainst Discrimination in Education, 2001.
Regional Agreements
Saudi Arabia is a founding member of the Arab League, as well as the Organisation of theIslamic Conference, the headquarters of which are located in the Saudi city of Jeddah. It issignatory to its charter, the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam.17
It is also a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and theGulf Cooperation Council (GCC), organisations with mainly economic aims, which also planto strengthen cooperation and integration of policies between states.
2. Constitution
The formal constitution has been declared to be the Koran. However, the 1992 Basic Law isoften taken as the supreme law and its provisions are alike to those of constitutions.
Equality is mentioned as one of the values underlying Saudi society: according to Article 8[Government Principles], “Government in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is based on thepremise of justice, consultation, and equality in accordance with the Islamic Sharia”18 Article
26 [Human Rights] provides: “The state protects human rights in accordance with theIslamic Sharia.” According to Article 27 [Welfare Rights]. “The state guarantees the rights ofthe citizen and his family in cases of emergency, illness and disability, and in old age; it
supports the system of social security and encourages institutions and individuals tocontribute in acts of charity.” Article 47 states: “The right to litigation is guaranteed tocitizens and residents of the Kingdom on an equal basis. The law defines the required
procedures for this.”
3. Domestic Legislation
Saudi legislation proposed by the Council of Ministers must be ratified by royal decree toensure its compliance with the Sharia law. The justice system consists of religious courts
whose judges are appointed by the royal family. The king functions as the highest court ofappeal and has the power to pardon.
The criminal code is unwritten and penalties are left to judge’s discretion, based on
precedent and tradition. There is an Imprisonment and Detention Law, which sets forth
executions of the acts of imprisonment and detention. It establishes a Supreme Prisons

17 http://www.religlaw.org/interdocs/docs/cairohrislam1990.htm
18 http://www.servat.unibe.ch/law/icl/sa00000_.html

4Council charged with monitoring the execution of imprisonment procedures19. There is anextensive civil and commercial code aiming to encourage economic development.
Labour and Workmen Law20
The law as amended in 2005 contains articles that extend protection to previously
unregulated workers and it recognizes the right of women to work in “all sectors
compatible with their nature”, as well as forcing large companies to establish nurseries andday-care centers. However, the law discriminates against foreigners and migrant workers
by stipulating that at least 75% of any company’s employees must be Saudi citizens,enforcing a policy of “Saudization” adopted to reduce the kingdom’s dependency on foreignlabour.
Order No. 37 of 1994 underlines that employers must provide equal remuneration for equal
conditions and environment of work between male and female workers. There is also an
Order of the Council of Ministers (No. 85 of 1997) related to providing disabled persons
with employment opportunities.21
Social Insurance Law
Chapter 1, article 2.7 of the Social Insurance Law22 explains that, “The term “contributor”
means any person who is subject to insurance, be he a man or woman, thus the use thereof
in a masculine form in any provision shall include the woman insofar as it is appropriate.”
Chapter 2, Article 2 states: “1. The Occupational Hazards Branch shall be compulsorily
applied to all workers without any discrimination as to sex, nationality or age. 2. The
Annuities Branch shall be compulsorily applied to all Saudi workers without any
discrimination as to sex…”
Significantly, domestic workers and servants are excluded from the protection of the social
insurance law.
IV.

Realising the Right to Non-Discrimination

Human rights have a long way to go in Saudi Arabia. Trade unions and political parties arebanned, as well as are public protests and demonstrations.There are practically no
independent civil society associations or NGOs and human rights defenders are subject toabuse and mistreatment. Regime critics are often arrested, harassed and banned frompublic speaking. In September 2006 Wajeha al-Huwaider, a women’s rights activist wasdetained and forced to cease her human rights advocacy as a condition for release. Manyinternational organisations, including Amnesty International, are denied access to thecountry.23

19 www.glin.gov
20 http://www.saudia-online.com/labor_workmen_law.htm
21 The texts of these orders are available upon request from the NATLEX database
22 http://www.gosi.com.sa/_SocialInsurance.php
23 http://web.amnesty.org/report2005/sau-summary-eng

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As is evident from the foregoing, anti-discrimination legislation is extremely weak in Saudi
Arabia. Censorship is heavy and extends to all forms of media and communications (press,TV, books, Internet, etc.). Anything deemed offensive to Islam, the government or themonarchy is prohibited. Reporters Without Borders has placed Saudi Arabia in the 161st
place in their survey of 167 countries on press freedom, indicating extraordinary high levelsof censorship.24 Without the essential freedoms of expression and association, it is very
difficult to pursue the promotion of equal rights and the creation of a civil society.
There is, however, some optimism as the Saudi government is slowly waking up to thecriticisms it faces from the international community. It has allowed severely restricted nonpartisan local elections as a tentative step towards democracy and approved the creation of
a National Society for Human Rights, which is concerned with monitoring compliance withthe country’s obligations under international law and has called for judicial reform.25

24 http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=19391
25 http://hrw.org/englishwr2k7/docs/2007/01/11/saudia14717.htm

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