Saudi Arabia persists in suppressing human rights advocates, usually by cruel treatment and wrongful detention, in spite of the world’s advances towards protecting human rights. Right Livelihood and its allies alerted the Council to the harsh anti-terrorism and cybercrime legislation in the nation, which are being utilized to suppress dissent and the inalienable right to peaceful protest.
Act now to stop Saudi abuses
Waleed Abu al-Khair, the recipient of the Right Livelihood Award, is presently serving a 15-year jail term. He has suffered abuse, torture, and cruel treatment as a result of these laws. Abu al-Khair has frequently endured solitary imprisonment and beatings. We informed the Council that we regretted his October 2023 transfer to al-Ha’ir Prison’s highest security wing due to his refusal to participate in a “rehabilitation program.” Regretfully, the regime is targeting more Saudi Laureates than just Abu al-Khair. Since October 2022, fellow laureate Muhammad al-Qahtani has been detained without access to communication. His situation is a prime example of the concerning tendency of lengthening sentences or forcing activists who have been freed into enforced disappearance. We informed the Council that we could not ignore Saudi Arabia’s worsening human rights situation. More precisely, we need to put pressure on the Saudi government to abstain from its persecution of nonviolent activists, ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and free all human rights advocates.
Human rights in peril in Saudi Arabia
ALQST for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch stated that the interactive dialogue with the special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants at the United Nations Human Rights Council on June 25 and 26, 2024, should denounce the state of migrants’ rights in Saudi Arabia and demand immediate action. Urgent attention and prompt action are needed to address the plight of migrant workers in the kingdom, especially those employed in the construction sector and domestic labor, as well as the deaths of migrants and asylum seekers by Saudi border guards on the Yemen-Saudi border. Human Rights Watch, Saudi authorities utilize “giga-projects,” like the NEOM megacity project and their candidacy for the FIFA World Cup in 2034, as a diversion from criticism of their nation’s dismal record on human rights and to repair their reputation as widespread violators of human rights. The kafala (sponsorship) system, which binds workers to their sponsors in exchange for residency and work permits, is exploitative and abusive of the rights of migrant workers, and this is the foundation of these programs. About 80% of Saudi Arabia’s private sector labor force is migrant workers. Employers continue to have disproportionate power over employees in spite of improvements, including the ability to change employment.
Saudi Arabia’s shame: UN must intervene
Under these circumstances, employees remain susceptible to pervasive mistreatment, such as contract replacement, excessive hiring costs, unpaid salaries, employer passport seizure, and forced labor. Despite evidence that these calendar-based midday outdoor work prohibitions are inefficient in protecting workers from heat-related illnesses, Saudi Arabia nonetheless employs them as its main heat prevention strategy. When workers in the kingdom pass away, most of their fatalities are deemed unrelated to their jobs, therefore their deaths are not adequately probed, and the bereaved families are not given any compensation. Additionally, there have been several complaints of months-long salary arrears. Between March 2022 and June 2023, several Ethiopian migrants were killed by Saudi officials along the border between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Human Rights Watch discovered many incidents when Saudi border guards killed and injured hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers trying to enter Saudi Arabia by using explosive weapons. These acts of violence against migrants may qualify as crimes against humanity and constitute grave breaches of humanitarian law and international human rights.
Time for UN action on Saudi human rights
The NGOs added that in order to address the continued violations of human rights in Saudi Arabia, the international community should press the government to uphold its commitments under international law by defending the rights of migrants both inside and outside of its borders. Impose strict requirements on businesses looking to conduct business in Saudi Arabia on the protection of migrant workers’ rights and the completion of thorough due diligence studies regarding human rights. Align Saudi Arabia’s internal labor laws with international human rights norms, such as the freedom of movement and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICMW) in order to implement the recommendations made during Saudi Arabia’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of its human rights situations at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC).