What after the Saudi Human Rights Report

IT’S not news to say that Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country that bases its constitution on the Islamic Shariah. It governs every single aspect of daily life in Saudi Arabia. It also sets out the system of government and rights of citizens.
Shariah has always guaranteed integration of human rights in every time and place. However, people in Saudi Arabia still cannot understand the idea that Islam is the same but its followers and its practice have been changing with time.
They still cannot believe that human rights might be violated in a country that bases its basic law on Islamic regulations. Thus, they have always been reluctant to take any steps towards issuing regulations that protect those rights and set penalties against their violators.
On Sunday, however, the Saudi National Human Rights Association (NHRA) published its report about the situation of human rights in the country. The report was the first since the establishment of the newly formed government-affiliated association.
Reading the report one cannot help but admire the noticeable transparency and the accuracy of the information given, especially if we compare it to those published by foreign organizations. To Saudis, those reports are, in most of cases, biased and superficial. They focus on controversial topics that Muslims deem non-negotiable. This fact and others have always created a strong negative and defensive reaction in Saudi society. It has also led to rejection of the reports regardless of their significance as an indicator of the way the world look at us.
But this should not necessarily be the case with the NHRA report as it is conducted and published by a Saudi government association. This gives the report more credibility and acceptance among Saudis.
It covers almost all areas where human rights might possibly be or are violated in the country. For instance, The Saudi judicial system has been recently criticized for not meeting the increasing demands of the rapid social change in the Kingdom. Complains are escalating about the reluctance to establish a family court that would help in solve the problem of delay in finalizing cases related to divorce and child custody.

Women’s situation inside the Saudi court has also been criticized and characterized as being biased. In most court proceedings, such as those involving divorce and family law, women are asked to deputize male relatives to speak on their behalf, which affects the verdict. No one better represents the woman than herself.
The report tackles issues emphasizing the importance of having an independent judicial system as well as protecting judges from pressure and interference. At the same time, it stresses the necessity of holding judges accountable for falling short in carrying out their duties.
The rights of the minorities in the country and the importance of finding out speedy solutions for their complains is also part of the report’s focus. The high percentage of unemployment, the outcome of education in its present form and discrimination against women covered a respectable part of the report.
The inappropriateness of the sponsorship system that governs citizen-expatriate relationship is also criticized. In fact, the report calls for abolishing that system, characterizing it as a violation of human rights.
It also calls for reviewing the authority given to the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. It states that such authority should be accurately reviewed and rewritten in a way that prevents possible abuse.
Generally speaking, the report is objective and touches the pain and sufferings of Saudi society. It reflects the transparency and patriotism of those who worked on collecting and reporting the facts. But since the association is only a supervising body that has no executive authority, the report will remain in word only, which will end up in locked drawers unless officials in the government bodies concerned use it as guideline for reform and change.
There should be a committee working under the umbrella of the Cabinet to follow up such reports and make sure that human rights violations are stopped or at least addressed. This committee should be given the authority to issue penalties against the government departments or ministries that do not act to prevent violations. It should report directly to the King so as to guarantee its independence.