National Society for Human Rights

In March 2004,[5][1] several citizens of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia established the National Society for Human Rights based on the following aims:

• The importance of human rights in social life.
• The great challenges that face the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, both locally and internationally.
• The desire for patriotic participation in facing challenges, arriving at the truth, identifying the weaknesses, and aiding in handling them.
• Aiding the State in achieving justice and fighting oppression.
• Defending the application of the Islamic Laws (Shariah).[6]

The Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C. described the NSHR as the "first independent human rights organization in Saudi Arabia".[1] Human Rights First Society was created two years earlier, in 2002, and denied a licence to exist formally.[4]

The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) implements the international human rights charters signed by Saudi Arabia, and it also includes a special panel to monitor violations of women's rights. According to its resolution, the Society seeks to protect human rights and preserve human dignity as ordered by Allah, Most Powerful, in the Qur’an: "And indeed We have honoured the Children of Adam".[7] It seeks to support the rights of citizens, to monitor and pursue their rights as established and recognized by Islamic Sharia law and applicable regulations, and seeks to protect citizens from possible violations, abuses, and breaches of those rights. It also seeks to contribute to international efforts and worldwide cooperation aimed at preserving human rights.[8] The main office is in Riyadh, but it also has four other branches in Saudi Arabia, located in Jeddah, Makkah, Jizan, and East Province, and it is working to open a fifth branch in Aljouf. The Society initially consisted of 41 founding members, six of whom are women.[5]

The objectives of the Society are as follows:

1. To endeavor to protect the human rights according to the Constitution of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which is based on the Quran and the teachings of Mohammad and in accordance with applied regulations, along with the Declarations and Covenants of Human Rights issued by the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the United Nations and its agencies and specialized committees, so long as they do not contradict with Islamic Shariah (Islamic Laws).
2. To cooperate with the international organizations working in the same field.
3. To stand against injustice, abuse, violence, torture, and intolerance[9][10]

The Society's income is generated from publications, bulletins, and revenue generated from symposia and fairs. Moreover, revenues are generated from property investments. In addition, the Society accepts gifts, testaments, Awqaf (endowments), grants, and other resources that do not contradict with the objectives of the Society.[10]

NHSR issues periodic reports on the progress of human rights in Saudi Arabia. It publishes a monthly bulletin called Hogog, which means Rights. So far NSHR has published five reports. The first report was on human rights in Saudi Arabia in 2006 and is a 60-page publication. This report addresses many issues including women's rights, security and civil liberties, educational rights, children's rights, prisoners’ rights, and the rights of foreign labourers.[11] The next publication was a collection of essays written about that first report. Two other publications are studies on how compatible Saudi regulations are with basic human rights agreements. The fifth publication was a report on the violations of human rights in Guantanamo Bay such as torture and the general mistreatment of Saudi prisoners. These include being left with no food for more than 18 hours, and insulting religious symbols such as by urinating on the Qur’an. It mentions the killing of a couple of Saudis, whom the American government claimed to have committed suicide but the inspection group who examined the corpses said that the cause of death had not been suicide.[11]

The Society has dealt with more than 6,500 issues so far. Of these, 434 were about family violations where 205 issues came from the Makkah branch, 109 from Jizan, 68 from Riyadh, and 43 from East Province. In 2006 the total number of issues was 1,111, of which family issues count for 24%; the other issues include labour, finance, asking for citizenship, and other unclassified issues. Moreover, the Society has visited 22 prisons all around the Kingdom and is following prisoner matters through the judicial and executive institutions. NSHR has undertaken unannounced visits to care homes in order to ensure that the elderly residents are receiving good treatment and that the level of hygiene is high. The Society is also cooperating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in regard to human rights generally and to family violations in particular. The Society has also delivered several lectures on human rights. Furthermore, there is a website where the public can view the issues that the Society deals with, or where they can present their own issues. NSHR has instituted a commission with regard to the Saudi prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and presses for the accused to be either released or put on trial. The total number of Saudi prisoners in Guantanamo used to be 130 but 117 were released on 10 November 2007, and currently 23 remain imprisoned. NSHR also communicates with other international human rights organization to put pressure on the American government to close the prison.[12]

• Human rights in Saudi Arabia#Human rights organizations
• LGBT rights in Saudi Arabia

• Official Website