GENEVA, 14 April — The Kingdom is in the final stages of setting up two human rights commissions, one government-run and the other a non-governmental body, a top Saudi official has said here.
“Arrangements are in final stages to set up two human rights commissions,” Prince Turki ibn Muhammad ibn Saud Al-Kabir, assistant deputy foreign minister for political affairs, for political affairs, told the Geneva-based Human Rights Commission.
Prince Turki told the 58th session of the commission on Friday that the Kingdom has already set up divisions concerned with human rights issues in some government bodies.
The Kingdom has signed four out of six international human rights covenants and is planning to sign the remaining two soon, Prince Turki added.
Riyadh has also modified laws on criminal procedures, lawyers and defense rights before the courts, he said.
Prince Turki said the Kingdom was concerned certain media and politicians had sought to exploit the Sept. 11 terror attacks to associate terrorism with Islam and Muslims.
Inviting international attention to the ongoing Israeli atrocities against unarmed Palestinians, Prince Turki strongly denounced the flagrant human rights violations by Israeli forces in the occupied territories. The prince warned that the Jewish state’s oppressive policies were endangering world peace and security.
