“The discussion on the protection from abuse took place when a draft regulation containing 16 articles was presented at the house by the council’s social, youth and family affairs committee,” Shoura Council Assistant Secretary-General Ahmed Al-Yahya said following Monday’s session.

He added that the members discussed concerns about all forms of violence against children, women, wives, the handicapped, patients and others who suffer from mental disorders.

The draft, he said, targets community members and is intended to create awareness among them to prevent such abuse by highlighting their social implications.

“The draft is a scientific and practical mechanism to prevent abuse against vulnerable people.”

The draft law outlines the rights of vulnerable people and includes awareness programs to educate them.

“It has been drafted according to Islamic law and offers maximum protection to possible victims of abuse and negligence,” the official said.

He explained that the clauses in the draft are based on Islamic principles, current regulations of the Kingdom and adhere to relevant international agreements signed by the Saudi Arabia.

The draft also includes clauses to protect the child from physical and mental abuse, parental negligence, sexual exploitation, child labor, child trafficking, the sale of cigarettes and narcotics. It also emphasizes that all children should be looked after by their parents as well as people living in the neighborhood.

Saudi Arabia ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1996, with a concession that it could choose to ignore articles that it considered to be in conflict with the provisions of Islamic law.

The regulations of the draft comply with the objectives of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention Against Torture.

Yahya said even though the council’s committee discussed the draft set of regulations on several occasions, the house requested it to spend more time in analyzing its pros and cons before it is tabled again for a final decision.

The house also approved a draft convention on security cooperation between the Kingdom and Malaysia. He said the draft is in line with the Kingdom’s current efforts in the fight against all forms of crimes and to combat terror in partnership with friendly countries.

The house also approved a draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) on health affairs and environment between the Kingdom and the United Kingdom. A similar MOU was also approved with Ireland, he added.