KSA calls on UN to stop politicizing human rights

GENEVA: Saudi Arabia has called on UN committees to confront the attempt to politicize human rights issues which some, with political goals unrelated to human rights, have used as an excuse for intervening in the internal affairs of other countries.

Nasser Al-Shahrani of Human Rights Commission said that Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, was making great efforts to uphold human rights including protection from torture as a principle of Islamic Shariah which bans torture and penalizes those who engage in it.
Al-Shahrani was delivering the Saudi statement to the UN International Committee Against Torture, in its annual report. He spoke of the strategy, based on Islamic Shariah, which the Kingdom has adopted to fight torture in addition to national legislation, agreements and the Anti-Torture Agreement.
He said Saudi strategy was supported by a strong political will and an active justice system against crime with mechanisms for control and follow-up. “Building a strong legal framework, an application system with mechanisms for monitoring and control forms a comprehensive system against torture,” he said.
He said Saudi Arabia applied laws and agreements in an effective way, together with procedures and investigations, prosecution and sentencing, and held regular training programs for workers in the field.
He added that the Kingdom had taken all procedures against torture in line with its national systems and legislation and that these reflected its concern for international human rights agreements to which Saudi Arabia is a signatory.
Al-Shahrani said the Kingdom was also concerned with the development of the judiciary and the review of legislation to amend laws and come up with new ones which generally support human rights.
He talked also about new laws relating to procedures which guarantee protection against human rights abuses in the Kingdom, together with the process of investigation and court hearings to ensure justice and protection against torture; those apprehended must understand why they are being arrested and that they have a right to a lawyer.
He said that according to the new procedures law, Article 13 specifies that the state must bear all costs and expenditures for a defense lawyer if the accused is unable to pay. This aims to ensure a just and fair trial.
He added that a royal decree had been issued directing the formation of a special committee to formulate the laws based on Islamic jurisprudence, and that the committee was making progress on this.
He added the Kingdom was committed to all agreements it has signed which do not go against Islamic Shariah. He emphasized that UN committees need to stand steadfast against the politicization of human rights which some have been used as an excuse to intervene in other countries’ internal affairs. Often this has been done with political goals in mind which were unrelated to human rights.
He said within the framework of the technical cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the UN Human Rights Commission, a national directive guide will be produced which will apply international agreements by the Kingdom, as well as programs, seminars and workshops such as the one on torture held last January by UN experts.
He said Saudi Arabia had established a special center to receive reports of family violence on a toll-free number on a 24-hour basis. He said the center had female staff authorized to intervene at once with the government and NGOs in cases where it is required.