LONDON: Hala bint Mazyad Al-Tuwaijri, the president of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, has spoken of the Kingdom’s commitment to meeting the highest global standards in promoting and protecting human rights, as part of its Vision 2030.
Al-Tuwaijri reiterated the goal in her opening statement to the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Al-Tuwaijri said: “The Kingdom’s government attaches great importance to the UPR mechanism and takes it seriously.”
She highlighted that the Kingdom submitted national reports and initiated effective mechanisms to track the implementation of recommendations.
Al-Tuwaijri also emphasized the Kingdom’s efforts to engage stakeholders and host high-level delegations from relevant entities.
She explained that Saudi Arabia had supported and implemented the majority of recommendations presented during the previous three review cycles, with the Kingdom implementing 85 percent of 450.
Al-Tuwaijri said the Kingdom had made significant and qualitative improvements in various areas of human rights under Saudi Vision 2030.
She added that these reforms were consistent with international standards and founded on the principle that humans should be the focal point, subject, and beneficiaries of development.
She said that the reforms had been implemented at legislative, judicial, executive, and procedural levels, addressing all human rights and related concerns. This demonstrated the application of the principle that human rights were complementary and indivisible.
She emphasized the creation of an effective legal and institutional framework for promoting and protecting human rights.
Efforts have additionally been made to improve compliance with regional and international human rights standards, in line with the Kingdom’s obligations under conventions.
Al-Tuwaijri pointed to 50 reforms regarding women’s rights and spoke of efforts to combat violence against women and girls, including the amendment of the Law of Protection from Abuse in 2022.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched an initiative aimed at protecting children in the cyberworld in 2020.
Additionally, education in the Kingdom is compulsory until the age of 15.
