The Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Organization (ARCO) plans to ask the Ministry of Education to make community service mandatory for students at government schools, similar to such projects in developed countries.

Abdullah Al-Hazza, secretary-general of ARCO, said his organization would submit the project to Minister of Education Prince Khaled Al-Faisal.

Speaking on the sidelines of ARCO's 40th general assembly meeting in Riyadh recently, Al-Hazza said many Saudi universities already have voluntary community service programs for their students.

Al-Hazza said the Kingdom has a culture of volunteerism, with provisions for participants' age and other factors.

In a related matter, Al-Hazza said that ARCO plans to set up an Arab academy for humanitarian international law based in Riyadh to provide training for members of the public and officials involved in this kind of work.

The aim is to protect communities from violence, extortion and provide safe shelter in times of war and natural disasters such as floods.

"Arab communities lack a culture of humanitarianism. The current unstable social and political situation in the region requires this," he said.

He said the academy would educate people on their rights and obligations. "Arab governments should know and respect the rights of their citizens, including the right to have healthy food, education and housing," said Al-Hazza.