Within a few days, Riyadh will host a conference on human rights during times of peace and war. The conference is being organized by the Saudi Red Crescent Society. Holding the conference at this particular time is of great significance. It is a Saudi message to the world that the Kingdom shares with the international community its concerns over human rights.
In holding the conference, however, Saudi Arabia is not imitating any other country. The message the Kingdom seeks to deliver by means of the conference is that human rights remain part and parcel of this country’s religious beliefs, with every detail here derived from the teachings of Islam which were set out more than 1,400 years ago.
Addressing the issue of human rights requires a high degree of transparency. Some reports about the Kingdom by international human rights groups are so exaggerated that readers feel as if they were reading about a country living in darkness, suffering and misery. The picture painted by these organizations contradicts all logic and can easily be refuted by just looking at a few facts. These facts tell of a country that in less than a hundred years transformed itself from backwardness, disunity and insecurity into a modern state.
A society which led a tribal life, living in ignorance and poverty and saddled with crippling traditions by which both men and women were denied the right to education and work, has suddenly been catapulted into modernity. Within less then a century, a country the size of a continent has been unified with modern cities and urban centers everywhere, the countryside modernized, education and health care extended to even the remotest villages. Women have received their share of education and managed to occupy leading positions and play a vital role in the development of their society. Laws governing people’s lives come from the Shariah, enabling millions of citizens to take the initiative to improve their living standards and help in the construction of their country.
We are not talking about a society populated by angels. There have been mistakes in the past and there will no doubt be mistakes in the future. There are some among us who may have been carried away by modern life and who may have suffered injustice, whether intentionally or unintentionally. This happens everywhere. But people who live in glass houses should not throw stones. They must remember that they, too, make easy targets. This does not mean we should defend or justify any wrongdoing. Like many others, we dream of the day when every act is governed by law and that the law is respected and upheld by all.
— Arab News Local Press 12 October 2003
