On March 9, 2004, Saudi Arabia's King Fahd Bin
Abd Al-Aziz officially approved the establishment of the
country's first non-governmental human rights organization. The new
National Organization for Human Rights (NOHR) has 41 members, nine of
them women, and is chaired by Dr. Abdallah Bin Saleh Al-'Ubeid, a
member of the Saudi Shoura Council and former secretary-general of
the Muslim World League. The new organization's members and
executive committee, who are also members of the Saudi Shoura Council,
participate in NOHR activities "in an individual and not an official
capacity." NOHR has four committees: tracking and oversight, research and
recommendations, family matters and culture, and publication.
NOHR Chairman Dr. Abdallah Bin Saleh Al-'Ubeid explained that the
organization would strive to protect human rights in accordance with the
principles of the Saudi regime, based on the Qur'an and the Sunna,(1) as
well as international human rights conventions, in a manner that does not
conflict with Shari'a,(2) and in cooperation with international
organizations. Saudi Crown Prince Abdallah supported the
organization's mission and promised to provide it with all necessary
government assistance.(3)
NOHR Chairman: Amputations and Floggings are not Violations of Human
Rights
In an interview with the London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat, Dr.
Al-'Ubeid explained that NOHR is not aimed at pressuring the Saudi regime
and that it has no power to impose its will on the state. He added, "The
organization will cooperate with all internationally acknowledged human
rights organizations and institutions, but will not ally itself with them
for the purpose of pressuring elements inside Saudi Arabia that do not
cooperate with it. The only means of pressure that the organization has is
to [expose] non-cooperative elements in its annual report, which will be
given to the head of state. The organization cannot force its positions on
the state. However, it will cooperate with the state to make public human
rights mistakes committed by individuals and government entities."
Commenting on human rights violations by the Saudi government, Al-'Ubeid
said: "Theoretically, the kingdom sets the laws, and the regime makes sure
that these laws do not contradict Islamic Shari'a. It is safe to
assume that those who are appointed by the state to uphold the laws are
committed to doing so. But there are some infringements due to
unfamiliarity [with the laws] or due to excessive zeal in upholding them.
The state does not endorse those infringements and has the means, both
financially and administratively, to handle them…"
Discussing the manner in which complaints will be handled, Al-'Ubeid said:
"When someone turns to the organization and claims he was imprisoned for
political reasons, we look into his claim and the evidence that he
presents. In principle, the organization has no problem examining any
issue. But that does not mean that every problem will be accepted just
because someone brought it up. Someone may say that he is a political
prisoner, but in fact he had harmed others, and there are criminals who
were sentenced to jail or other punishments. Not everyone who was punished
was indeed mistreated. Perhaps it was he who violated the freedoms of
others. We hope that the organization, along with other institutions, will
help anyone who complains – and was [indeed] deprived of his rights - to
restore his rights… [However] what one person considers a violation of his
rights may not [actually] be so. There are rules and religious laws that
govern man and society. One of the drawbacks of the international
proclamations of human rights, and some [human rights] organizations, is
that [they focus on the] rights of the individual as the one and only
thing [to be considered]. It is surprising that international [human
rights] protocols do not speak of [human] obligations, just [of human]
rights…"
"There are those who consider certain issues a violation of human rights,
while we consider them a safeguard to human rights – for example,
executions, amputating the hand of a thief, or flogging an adulterer.
There are those who think that all Qur'anic punishments violate human
rights. Therefore, the position of the Saudi foreign ministry, and the
position of many Islamic countries and even some of the Western countries,
is that international proclamations of human rights and their related
protocols are [considered only] general principles, and that their
implementation is subject to the laws [of each country]… We, in the
kingdom, are part of the world insofar as [general principles of] human
rights [are concerned]. But domestically we are governed according to
Allah's Shari'a, so that what [to someone else] seems like a
violation of human rights is [in fact] our duty and our right concerning
someone who committed a crime or a sin."
Referring to the organization's independent status, Al-'Ubeid explained:
"The organization is a national popular non-governmental entity that has
no affiliation with government institutions. None of its members holds a
government position. Members of the organization are consultants … members
of faculty in universities … or retirees. None has ties to the state's
executive branch, and that is why the state can establish [human rights]
organizations of its own…"
Al-'Ubeid also talked about the Saudis detained by the U.S. at Guantanamo
Bay: "We will add our efforts in this area to those of international
organizations seeking to ensure that they are treated in accordance with
human rights conventions. We shall do our utmost, in cooperation with
government and civilian institutions, to achieve this demand at the outset
of our activities."(4)
Criticism of the NHRO
A heated discussion regarding the independence of the NHRO immediately
followed the announcement of its establishment. Former judge Sheikh Abd
Al-Aziz Al-Qassem maintained that the organization was in fact
governmental, not civilian. As evidence, he stated, "None of its members
could have announced its establishment prior to obtaining official
approval." However, he praised the organization as "the first step towards
creating a culture of human rights and their implementation in the Saudi
society."(5)
Other critics referred to the priorities of the organization. In his
column in the London-based Arabic language daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat,
Tariq Al-Hameed commented on Al-'Ubeid's statement that the issue of
the Guantanamo Bay detainees is the NHRO's top priority. Al-Hameed
maintained that this issue was being handled by the government, and should
not be handled by a civilian organization. "We hope that the civilian
organization will deal with domestic problems of interest to the citizen
who is not immersed in political details, the citizen who is seeking
solutions to problems in his day-to-day life… The greatest fear is that
tomorrow we will see the Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghani problems on the
agenda of the NHRO… This will contradict the core of the organization's
mission and what is expected of it…"(6)
A Saudi Governmental Human Rights Organization
Subsequent to the announcement of the establishment of the NOHR,
Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Prince Turki Bin
Muhammad announced the imminent establishment of a governmental human
rights organization. In an interview with the London Arabic-language daily
Al-Hayat, he explained that what seemed to be the deliberate
founding of the government organization after the founding of the civilian
organization, was indeed planned so as to "ensure the accomplishment of
its goals as expected." The organization, he said, would be a high-level
entity headed by a qualified individual with a direct connection to the
king.
On ties between the civilian and governmental human rights organizations,
Prince Turki Bin Muhammad said: "We expect the two organizations to
cooperate in securing and enhancing human rights in Saudi Arabia. There
are no ties between the two: One is national and was established on the
basis of the wishes of the Saudi society. The national human rights
organization has its own mission and it is fully independent. The other is
governmental, and coordinates the activities of government institutions
for the purpose of serving human rights in the kingdom. The governmental
organization has no guardianship over the national organization. Each one
of them is independent."
When asked about the scope of human rights violations in Saudi Arabia,
Turki Bin Muhammad answered: "Based on my work, and my involvement in this
issue for over eight years, I can say that there are no significant human
rights violations, as alleged falsely by suspicious parties. There may be
some transgressions by individuals [or institutions], but they do not rise
to the level that could be described as human rights violations. I think
these cases can be managed when they arise."
Explaining why Saudi Arabia refused to allow an Amnesty International
delegation to investigate human rights violations in the kingdom,
Turki Bin Muhammad said that Amnesty International had taken "a hostile
position towards the kingdom, which tainted its objectivity." He added
that "Saudi Arabia invited non-governmental organizations to visit the
country, including one of the most important non-governmental
international organizations – Human Rights Research [sic]. They
visited Saudi Arabia and met with officials, intellectuals and civilians.
They visited prisons and gathered information with which they were not
familiar. Finally, they prepared a positive report about what they heard
and observed. As for Amnesty International, it has unfortunately taken
hostile positions in the past, especially in regard to our faith and
values… We do not oppose cooperation with any organization dealing with
human rights, as long as its points of departure are impartial and
credible."(7)
At the March 17, 2004 U.N. human rights conference in Geneva, Turki Bin
Muhammad rejected demands by the U.S. and other Western countries to speed
up the reform process in Saudi Arabia. He said Riyadh would pursue reform
based on the needs of Saudi society, not on ideas and theories from
without. Prince Turki also dismissed allegations of discrimination against
women in Saudi society, pointing out that some 49% of the country's 4.3
million students are women and that women also held about a third of all
public positions.(8)
* Aluma Dankowitz is the Director of MEMRI's Reform Project.
Endnotes:
(1) The sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad, set out as a mandatory
example for Muslims.
(2) Islamic law.
(3) Al-Hayat (London), March 10, 2004.
(4) Al-Hayat (London), March 12, 2004.
(5) Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), March 11, 2004.
(6) Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), March 13, 2004.
(7) Al-Hayat (London), March 12, 2004.
(8) Arab News (Saudi Arabia), March 18, 2004.