Al-Yami expressed his gratitude, adding that the election reflects the Kingdom’s position on both the regional and international levels, and its sincerity in ensuring the charter is carried out. “The charter is an important step the Arab world has taken with regard to human rights,” he added.

Apart from his role at the HRC, Al-Yami is also vice president of the National Committee for Lawyers, an auditor at the Ministry of Justice, and member of bodies like the Saudi Red Crescent, the National Committee to Care for Released Prisoners and their Families and the Money Laundering Combating Committee. HRC head Bandar Al-Iban congratulated Al-Yami and spoke of how the commission is proud of his election to the Arab League body. He added that the HRC is mainly concerned with supervising and monitoring the application of the charter, which the Kingdom participated in organizing.

He also said the Kingdom’s support of Al-Yami’s nomination reflects its concern for human rights, which are shared by Islamic teachings.

The Arab League Human Rights Committee consists of seven members and was established in March 2009 to supervise the implementation of the Arab Charter on Human Rights.

Its current members are from the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Bahrain, Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Libya.

The committee has held three sessions so far in which it has discussed procedural aspects of organizing its work. As of September 2009, 10 Arab states ratified the charter: Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Libya, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the UAE and Yemen.

The 22-member Arab League, officially called the League of Arab States, was formed in Cairo on March 22, 1945.