SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Arabia is a monarchy without elected
representative institutions or political parties. It is ruled by King Fahd
Bin Abd Al-Aziz Al Saud, a son of King Abd Al-Aziz Al Saud, who unified
the country in the early 20th century. Since the death of King Abd
al-Aziz, the King and Crown Prince have been chosen from among his sons,
who themselves have had preponderant influence in the choice. A 1992 royal
decree reserves for the King exclusive power to name the Crown Prince. The
Government has declared the Islamic holy books, the Koran and the Sunna
(tradition) of the Prophet Muhammad, to be the country's Constitution. The
Government bases its legitimacy on governance according to the precepts of
a rigorously conservative form of Islam. Neither the Government nor the
society in general accept the concept of separation of religion and state.
The Government prohibits the establishment of political parties and
suppresses opposition views. In 1992 King Fahd appointed a Consultative
Council and similar provincial assemblies. The Consultative Council began
holding sessions in 1993 and was expanded in 1997. The judiciary is
generally independent but is subject to influence by the executive branch
and members of the royal family.
Police and border forces under the Ministry of Interior
are responsible for internal security. The Mutawwa'in, or religious
police, constitute the Committee to Prevent Vice and Promote Virtue, a
semiautonomous agency that enforces adherence to Islamic norms by
monitoring public behavior. The Government maintained general control of
the security forces. However, members of the security forces committed
human rights abuses.
The oil industry has fueled the transformation of Saudi
Arabia from a pastoral, agricultural, and commercial society to a rapidly
urbanizing one characterized by large-scale infrastructure projects, an
extensive social welfare system, and a labor market comprised largely of
foreign workers. Oil revenues account for around 35 percent of the gross
domestic product (GDP) and 72 percent of government income. Agriculture
accounts for only about 8 percent of GDP. Government spending, including
spending on the national airline, power, water, telephone, education, and
health services, accounts for 36 percent of GDP. About 37 percent of the
economy is in private hands, and the Government is promoting further
privatization of the economy. In 1995 the Government began an aggressive
campaign to increase the number of Saudi nationals represented in the
public and private work forces. The campaign has restricted employment of
some categories of foreign workers by limiting certain occupations to
Saudis only, increasing fees for some types of work visas, and setting
minimum wages for some job categories in order to increase the cost to
employers of non-Saudi labor. In 1997 the Government has offered a limited
amnesty under which illegal residents may depart the country without
penalty.
The Government commits and tolerates serious human
rights abuses. Citizens have neither the right nor the legal means to
change their government. Security forces continued to abuse detainees and
prisoners, arbitrarily arrest and detain persons, and facilitate
incommunicado detention. Prolonged detention is a problem. Security forces
committed such abuses, in contradiction of law, but with the acquiescence
of the Government. Mutawwa'in continued to intimidate, abuse, and detain
citizens and foreigners. The Government prohibits or restricts freedom of
speech, the press, assembly, association, and religion. Other continuing
problems included discrimination and violence against women,
discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities, and strict
limitations on the rights of workers. The Government disagrees with
internationally accepted definitions of human rights and views its
interpretation of Islamic law as its sole source of guidance on human
rights.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person,
Including Freedom From:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were no reports of political or other
extrajudicial killings.
The investigation of the 1996 Al-Khobar bombing, which
killed 19 U.S. servicemen, continued. The Government has not yet issued a
report of its findings.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
There were credible reports that the authorities
continued to abuse detainees, both citizens and foreigners. Ministry of
Interior officials are responsible for most incidents of abuse, including
beatings, sleep deprivation, and torture. The Government's general refusal
to grant members of diplomatic missions access to the Ministry of Interior
detention facilities or allow members of international human rights groups
into the country hinders efforts to confirm or discount reports of abuses.
The Government's past failure to denounce human rights abuses has
contributed to the public perception that abuses can be committed with
impunity.
Although the number of reports of harassment by the
Mutawwa'in remained relatively low in comparison with previous years, the
Mutawwa'in continued to intimidate, abuse, and detain citizens and
foreigners of both sexes (see Section 1.d.).
The Government punishes criminals according to its
interpretation of Islamic law or Shari'a. Punishments include flogging,
amputation, and execution by beheading, stoning, or firing squad. In 1997
the authorities acknowledged 134 executions: 47 men and 1 woman for murder
(34 Saudis and 14 foreigners); 6 men for rape (all Saudis), 5 men for
forcible sodomy (all Saudis); 64 men and 2 women for narcotics offenses (2
Saudis and 64 foreigners); and 9 men for armed robbery (2 Saudis and 7
foreigners). The men were executed by beheading. The women were executed
by firing squad. There were no executions by stoning. In accordance with
Shari'a, the authorities may punish repeated thievery by amputation of the
right hand. However, there were no amputations. Persons convicted of less
serious offenses, such as alcohol related offenses or being alone in the
company of an unrelated person of the opposite sex, were sometimes
punished by flogging with a cane.
Prison and jail conditions vary throughout the Kingdom.
Prisons generally meet minimum international standards and provide
air-conditioned cells, good nutrition, regular exercise, and careful
patrolling by prison guards. However, some police station jails are
overcrowded and unsanitary. Authorities generally allowed family members
access to detainees.
Boards of Investigation and Public Prosecution,
organized on a regional basis, were established by King Fahd in 1993. The
members of these boards have the right to inspect prisons, review
prisoners' files, and hear their complaints. The Government, however, does
not permit human rights monitors to visit prisons or jails. Diplomats were
regularly granted access to incarcerated foreign citizens. However, the
Government does not allow impartial observers of any type access to
specialized Ministry of Interior prisons, where it detains persons accused
of political subversion.
Representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) are present at the Rafha refugee camp housing former
Iraqi prisoners of war and civilians who fled Iraq following the Gulf War.
According to UNHCR officials, there was no systematic abuse of refugees by
camp guards. When isolated instances of abuse have surfaced in the past,
the authorities have been responsive and willing to investigate
allegations and reprimand offending guards. The camp receives a high level
of material assistance and is comparatively comfortable and well run.
However, the Government generally confines refugees to the camp except in
the event of approved emigration from Saudi Arabia.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The law prohibits arbitrary arrest. Despite the law,
however, officers make arrests and detain persons without following
explicit legal guidelines. There are few procedures to safeguard against
abuse. There was only one known case of a citizen successfully obtaining
judicial redress for abuse of the Government's power of arrest and
detention. In 1995 a citizen successfully sued the Government for wrongful
imprisonment and was awarded compensation.
In accordance with a 1983 Ministry of Interior
regulation, authorities usually detain suspects for no longer than 3 days
before charging them. However, serious exceptions have been reported. The
regulation also has provisions for bail for less serious crimes. Also,
authorities sometimes release detainees on the recognizance of a patron or
sponsoring employer without the payment of bail. If not released,
authorities typically detain the accused an average of 2 months before
sending their case to trial or, in the case of some foreigners, summarily
deporting them. There is no established procedure providing detainees the
right to inform their family of their arrest. If asked, the authorities
usually confirm the arrest of foreigners to their country's diplomats. In
general, however, foreign diplomats learn about such arrests through
informal channels. The authorities may take as long as several months to
provide official notification of the arrest of foreigners, if at all. In
capital cases, authorities have arrested, tried, and executed foreigners
without notifying the foreign government. In 1997 authorities frequently
failed to notify diplomats of the arrest, detention, and even deportation
of foreign nationals.
The Mutawwa'in have the authority to detain people for
no more than 24 hours for violation of strict standards of proper dress
and behavior. However, they sometimes exceeded this limit before
delivering detainees to the police (see Section l.f.). Current procedures
require a police officer to accompany the Mutawwa'in at the time of an
arrest. Mutawwa'in generally complied with this requirement. The number of
reports of Mutawwa'in arresting and detaining persons who allegedly
violated dress and behavior standards was approximately at the same
reduced level as in the previous year.
Detainees arrested by the General Directorate of
Investigation (GDI), the Ministry of Interior's security service, are
commonly held incommunicado in special prisons during the initial phase of
an investigation, which may last weeks or months. The GDI allows the
detainees only limited contact with their families or lawyers.
The authorities detain people without charge who
publicly criticize the Government or charge them with attempting to
destabilize the Government (see Sections 2.a. and 3). The authorities
continued to detain Salman Al-Awdah and Safar Al-Hawali, Muslim clerics
who were arrested in September 1994 for publicly criticizing the
Government. Their detention that year sparked protest demonstrations
resulting in the arrest of 157 persons for antigovernment activities. At
the end of 1994, 27 of these persons remained in detention pending
investigation. In 1997 there were unverified but credible reports that a
number of such persons were released from prison, including Suleiman Al-Rushudi,
a founding member of the dissident Committee for the Defense of Legitimate
Rights (CDLR). The total number of current political detainees cannot be
determined but is estimated at less than 200 persons. The Government
released under its annual Ramadan amnesty hundreds or thousands of
prisoners and detainees convicted or held for minor offenses.
The total number of political detainees can not be
accurately determined, but is probably less than 50.
Since beginning the investigation of the 1996 bombing of
a U.S. military facility in Saudi Arabia, authorities have detained and
interrogated an increased number of Shi'a Muslims suspected of
fundamentalist tendencies or Iranian sympathies.
The Government did not use forced exile, and it did not
revoke citizenship for political purposes in 1997. However, it has
previously revoked the citizenship of opponents of the Government who
reside outside the country, such as Mohammed Al-Masari (see Section 3) and
Osama Bin Ladin, widely regarded as a financier and organizer of terrorist
activities.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The independence of the judiciary is prescribed by law
and is usually respected in practice. However, judges occasionally accede
to the influence of the executive branch, particularly members of the
royal family and their associates. Moreover, the Ministry of Justice
exercises judicial, financial, and administrative control of the courts.
The legal system is based on Shari'a or Islamic law.
Shari'a courts exercise jurisdiction over common criminal cases and civil
suits regarding marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance. These
courts base judgments largely on the Koran and on the Sunna, another
Islamic text. Cases involving relatively small penalties are tried in
Shari'a summary courts; more serious crimes are adjudicated in Shari'a
courts of common pleas. Appeals from Shari'a courts are to the courts of
appeal.
Other civil proceedings, including those involving
claims against the Government and enforcement of foreign judgments, are
held before specialized administrative tribunals, such as the Commission
for the Settlement of Labor Disputes and the Board of Grievances.
The Government permits Shi'a Muslims to use their own
legal tradition to adjudicate noncriminal cases within their community.
The military justice system has jurisdiction over
uniformed personnel and civil servants charged with violations of military
regulations. The Minister of Defense and Aviation and the King review the
decisions of courts-martial.
The Supreme Judicial Council is not a court and may not
reverse decisions made by a court of appeals. However, the Council may
review lower court decisions and refer them back to the lower court for
reconsideration. Only the Supreme Judicial Council may discipline or
remove a judge. The King appoints the members of the Council.
The Council of Senior Religious Scholars is an
autonomous body of 15 senior religious jurists, including the Minister of
Justice. It establishes the legal principles to guide lower court judges
in deciding cases.
Defendants usually appear without an attorney before a
judge, who determines guilt or innocence in accordance with Shari'a
standards. Defense lawyers may offer their clients advice before trial or
may attend the trial as interpreters for those unfamiliar with Arabic. The
courts do not provide foreign defendants with translators. Public
defenders are not provided. Individuals may choose any person to represent
them by a power of attorney filed with the court and Ministry of Justice.
Most trials are closed. However, in a highly publicized 1997 case
involving two foreign women charged with murder, the Saudi court conducted
preliminary matters and the trial with relatively open and transparent
procedures, including more effective use of counsel, increased consular
presence, and increased family access.
A woman's testimony does not carry the same weight as
that of a man. In a Shari'a court, the testimony of one man equals that of
two women. In the absence of two witnesses, or four witnesses in the case
of adultery, confessions before a judge are almost always required for
criminal conviction--a situation that repeatedly has led prosecuting
authorities to coerce confessions from suspects by threats and abuse.
Sentencing is not uniform. Foreign residents often
receive harsher penalties than citizens. Under Shari'a, as interpreted and
applied in Saudi Arabia, crimes against Muslims receive harsher penalties
than those against non-Muslims. In the case of wrongful death, the amount
of indemnity or "blood money" awarded to relatives varies with
the nationality, religion, and sex of the victim. A sentence may be
changed at any stage of review, except for punishments stipulated by the
Koran. In a case that received much publicity, a British nurse convicted
of murdering an Australian nurse in 1996 was spared the death penalty when
the victim's brother waved his right to demand that punishment and agreed
to accept "blood money" instead. A second British nurse involved
in the murder was convicted of a lesser offense and not sentenced to
death.
Provincial governors have the authority to exercise
leniency and reduce a judge's sentence. In general, members of the royal
family, and other powerful families, are not subject to the same rule of
law as ordinary citizens. For example, judges do not have the power to
issue a warrant summoning any member of the royal family.
The King and his advisors review cases involving capital
punishment. The King has the authority to commute death sentences and
grant pardons except for capital crimes committed against individuals. In
such cases, he may request the victim's next of kin to pardon the
murderer--usually in return for compensation from the family or the King.
There is insufficient information to determine the
number of political prisoners. The Government does not provide information
on such persons or respond to inquiries about them. Moreover, the
Government conducts closed trials for persons who may be political
prisoners and in other cases has detained persons incommunicado for long
periods while under investigation.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
The sanctity of family life and the inviolability of the
home are among the most fundamental of Islamic precepts. Royal decrees
announced in 1992 include provisions calling for the Government to defend
the home from unlawful intrusions. Nonetheless, there are few protections
from government interference with one's privacy, family, home, or
correspondence.
The police must generally demonstrate reasonable cause
and obtain permission from the provincial governor before searching a
private home, but warrants are not required.
Customs officials routinely open mail and shipments for
contraband, including material deemed pornographic and non-Muslim
religious material. Customs officials confiscated or censored offending
materials, including Christian Bibles and religious video tapes (see
Section 2.c.). The authorities also open mail and use informants and
wiretaps in internal security and criminal matters. Security forces used
wiretaps against foreigners suspected of alcohol-related offenses.
The Government enforces most social and Islamic
religious norms, which are matters of law (see Section 5). Women may not
marry non-Saudis without government permission; men must obtain approval
from the Ministry of Interior to marry women from countries outside the
six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council. In accordance with Islamic
law, women are prohibited from marrying non-Muslims, but men may marry
Christians and Jews as well as Muslims.
Mutawwa'in practices and incidents of abuse varied
widely in different regions of the country. However, in certain areas, the
Mutawwa'in and religious vigilantes acting on their own harassed,
assaulted, battered, arrested, and detained citizens and foreigners,
albeit on a lesser scale than in 1995 and earlier years (see Section
1.d.). The Government requires the Mutawwa'in to follow established
procedures and to offer instruction in a polite manner; however,
Mutawwa'in did not always comply with the requirements. The Government has
not publicly condemned abuses by Mutawwa'in and religious vigilantes but
has sought to curtail them.
Mutawwa'in enforcement of strict standards of social
behavior included the closing of commercial establishments during daily
prayer observances, insisting upon compliance with strict norms of
public dress, and dispersing gatherings of women in public places.
Mutawwa'in frequently remonstrated with Saudi and foreign women for
failure to observe strict dress codes, arrested men and women found
together who were not married or otherwise close relatives, and arrested
men suspected of homosexual activity.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Government severely limits freedom of speech and of
the press. The authorities do not countenance criticism of Islam, the
ruling family, or the Government. Persons whose criticisms align them with
an organized political opposition are subject to arrest and detention
until they confess their crime or sign a statement promising not to resume
such criticisms, which is tantamount to a confession.
The print media are privately owned but publicly
subsidized. A 1982 media policy statement and a 1965 national security law
prohibit the dissemination of criticism of the Government. The media
policy statement urges journalists to uphold Islam, oppose atheism,
promote Arab interests, and preserve the cultural heritage of Saudi
Arabia. The Ministry of Information appoints, and may remove, the
editors-in-chief. It also provides guidelines to newspapers on
controversial issues. The Government owns the Saudi Press Agency (SPA),
which expresses official government views.
Newspapers typically publish news on sensitive subjects,
such as crime or terrorism, only after it has been released by the SPA or
when it has been authorized by a senior government official. Two
Saudi-owned, London-based dailies, Ash-Sharq al-Awsat and Al-Hayat, are
widely distributed and read in Saudi Arabia. Both Ash-Sharq al-Awsat and
Al-Hayat tend to practice self-censorship in order to comply with
government restrictions on sensitive issues. The authorities continue to
censor stories about Saudi Arabia in the foreign press. Censors may remove
or blacken the offending articles, glue pages together, or prevent certain
issues of foreign publications from entering the market. However, the
Ministry of Information continued to relax its blackout policy regarding
politically sensitive news concerning Saudi Arabia reported in
international media, although press restrictions on reporting of domestic
news remain very stringent. The Government's policy in this regard appears
to be motivated in part by pragmatic considerations: Saudi access to
outside sources of information, especially Cable News Network (CNN) and
other satellite television channels, is increasingly widespread.
The Government tightly restricts the entry of foreign
journalists into the Kingdom. The Government owns and operates the
television and radio companies. Government censors remove any reference to
politics, religions other than Islam, pork or pigs, alcohol, and sex from
foreign programs and songs.
There are approximately 1 million satellite receiving
dishes in the country, which provide citizens with foreign broadcasts. The
legal status of these devices is ambiguous. The Government ordered a halt
to their import in 1992, at the request of religious leaders who objected
to foreign programming available on satellite channels. In March 1994, the
Government banned the sale, installation, and maintenance of dishes and
supporting devices, but the number of dishes continues to increase and
residents may legally subscribe to satellite decoding services that
require a dish.
The Government censors all forms of public artistic
expression. The authorities prohibit cinemas and public musical or
theatrical performances, except those that are strictly folkloric.
Academic freedom is restricted. The authorities prohibit
the study of evolution, Freud, Marx, Western music, and Western
philosophy. Some professors believe that informers monitor their classroom
comments and report to government and religious authorities.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Government strictly limits the freedom of assembly.
It prohibits public demonstrations as a means of political expression.
Public meetings are segregated by sex. Unless meetings are sponsored by
diplomatic missions or approved by the appropriate governor, foreign
residents seeking to hold unsegregated meetings risk arrest and
deportation. The authorities monitor any large gathering of people,
especially of women. Government policy permits women to attend cultural
and social events at diplomatic chanceries and residences only if they are
accompanied by a father, brother, or husband. However, in practice, police
often implement the policy in an arbitrary manner. On repeated occasions
during the year, authorities actively prohibited escorted and unescorted
women from entering diplomatic chanceries to attend cultural events and
lectures. The Mutawwa'in dispersed groups of women found in public places
such as restaurants.
The Government strictly limits the freedom of
association. It prohibits the establishment of political parties or any
type of opposition group (see Section 3). By its power to license
associations, the Government ensures that groups conform to public policy.
c. Freedom of Religion
Freedom of religion does not exist. Islam is the
official religion, and all citizens must be Muslims. The Government
prohibits the public practice of other religions.
Conversion by a Muslim to another religion is considered
apostasy. Public apostasy is a crime under Shari'a law and punishable by
death.
Islamic practice is generally limited to that of the
Wahhabi sect's interpretation of the Hanbali school of the Sunni branch of
Islam. Practices contrary to this interpretation, such as visits to the
graves of renowned Muslims, are discouraged.
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs directly supervises and
is a major source of funds for the construction and maintenance of almost
all mosques in the country. The Ministry pays the salaries of imams and
others who work in the mosques. A governmental committee is responsible
for defining the qualifications of imams. The Mutawwa'in receive their
funding from the Government, and the general president of the Mutawwa'in
holds the rank of cabinet minister.
The Shi'a Muslim minority (roughly 500,000 of over 13
million citizens) lives mostly in the eastern province. They are the
objects of officially sanctioned political and economic discrimination
(see Section 5). Prior to 1990, the Government prohibited Shi'ite public
processions during the Islamic month of Muharram and restricted other
processions and congregations to designated areas in the major Shi'ite
cities. Since 1990 the authorities have permitted marches on the Shi'ite
holiday of Ashura, provided the marchers do not display banners or engage
in self-flagellation. Ashura commemorations took place in 1997 without
incident. The Government seldom permits private construction of Shi'ite
mosques. The Shi'a have declined government offers to build
state-supported mosques because the Government would prohibit the
incorporation and display of Shi'ite motifs in any such mosques.
The Government does not permit public non-Muslim
religious activities. Non-Muslim worshippers risk arrest, lashing, and
deportation for engaging in religious activity that attracts official
attention. There were no reports of government action against private
religious services in 1997. Furthermore, for the first time, a senior
Saudi leader stated publicly that the Government does not
"prevent" private non-Muslim religious worship in the home. Such
private non-Muslim worship activities occur on a wide scale through the
country, including on the premises of several embassies. Other high level
Saudi authorities have privately confirmed that the Government's policy
allows for private non-Muslim worship and that the Government does not
sanction investigation or harassment of such private worship services. The
Government ascribes any residual harassment of private worship services to
individuals and organizations acting on their own authority and in
contradiction of government policy. In 1997 there were unverifiable,
second-hand reports indicating that the Mutawwa'in broke up two non-Muslim
worship services in private homes in Hafr Al-Batn and Hail.
Persons wearing religious symbols of any kind in public
risk confrontation with the Mutawwa'in. This general prohibition against
religious symbols also applies to Muslims. A Christian wearing a crucifix
or a Muslim wearing a Koranic necklace in public would be
admonished. There were credible reports that Mutawwa'in arrested and beat
foreigners found trafficking in religious symbols.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The Government restricts the travel of Saudi women, who
must obtain written permission from their closest male relative before the
authorities will allow them to board public transportation between
different parts of the country or travel abroad (see Section 5). Men may
travel anywhere within the country or abroad.
Foreigners are typically allowed to reside or work in
Saudi Arabia only under the sponsorship of a Saudi national or business.
The Government requires foreign residents to carry identification cards.
It does not permit foreigners to travel outside the city of their
employment or change their workplace without their sponsor's permission.
Foreign residents who travel within the country may be asked by the
authorities to show that they possess letters of permission from their
employer or sponsor.
Sponsors generally retain possession of the workers'
passports. Foreign workers must obtain permission from their sponsors to
travel abroad. If sponsors are involved in a commercial or labor dispute
with foreign employees, they may ask the authorities to prohibit the
employees from departing the country until the dispute is resolved. Some
sponsors use this as a pressure tactic to resolve disputes in their favor
or to have foreign employees deported. There were numerous reports of the
Government prohibiting foreign employees involved in labor disputes from
departing the country until the dispute was resolved.
The Government seizes the passports of all potential
suspects and witnesses in criminal cases and suspends the issuance of exit
visas to them until the case is tried or otherwise concluded. As a result,
some foreign nationals are forced to remain in the country for lengthy
periods against their will. The authorities sometimes confiscate the
passports of suspected oppositionists and their families. The Government
sometimes prevents Shi'a Muslims believed to have pro-Iranian sympathies
from traveling abroad. The Government also detained and interrogated some
Saudi Shi'a Muslims who had traveled to Iran, upon their return to Saudi
Arabia (see Section 5).
Citizens may emigrate, but the law prohibits dual
citizenship. Apart from marriage to a Saudi national, there are no
provisions for foreign residents to acquire citizenship. However,
foreigners are granted citizenship in rare cases, generally through the
advocacy of an influential patron.
The 1992 Basic Law provides that "the State will
grant political asylum if the public interest mitigates" in favor of
it. The language does not specify clear rules for adjudicating asylum
cases. In general, the authorities regard refugees and displaced persons
like other foreign workers: They must have sponsors for employment or risk
expulsion. Of the 35,000 Iraqi civilians and former prisoners of war
allowed refuge in Saudi Arabia at the end of the Gulf War, none has been
granted permanent asylum by the Saudis; however, the Government has
underwritten the entire cost of providing safe haven to the Iraqi
refugees, and it continues to provide excellent logistical and
administrative support to the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and other resettlement agencies.
At year's end, approximately 29,000 of the original
35,000 Iraqi refugees had been resettled in other countries or voluntarily
repatriated to Iraq. Most of the approximately 6,000 remaining refugees
are restricted to the Rafha refugee camp. The UNHCR has monitored over
2,800 persons voluntarily returning to Iraq from Rafha since December 1991
and found no evidence of forcible repatriation (see Section 1.c.).
The Government has allowed some foreigners to remain
temporarily in Saudi Arabia in cases where their safety would be
jeopardized if they were deported to their home countries.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of
Citizens to Change Their Government
Citizens do not have the right to change their
government. There are no formal democratic institutions, and only a few
citizens have a voice in the choice of leaders or in changing the
political system. The King rules on civil and religious matters within
certain limitations established by religious law, tradition, and the need
to maintain consensus among the ruling family and religious leaders.
The King is also the Prime Minister, and the Crown
Prince serves as Deputy Prime Minister. The King appoints all other
ministers, who in turn appoint subordinate officials with cabinet
concurrence. In 1992 the King appointed 60 members to a
Consultative Council, or Majlis Ash-Shura. This strictly advisory body
began to hold sessions in 1993. In 1997 the King expanded the Council to
90 members, including at least 3 Shi'a members. The Council has maintained
a low profile and is not regarded as a significant political force by
either the citizenry or those in power.
The Council of Senior Islamic Scholars is another
advisory body to the King and the Cabinet. It reviews the Government's
public policies for compliance with Shari'a. The Government views the
Council as an important source of religious legitimacy and takes the
Council's opinions into account when promulgating legislation.
Communication between citizens and the Government is
usually expressed through client-patron relationships and by affinity
groups such as tribes, families, and professional hierarchies. In theory,
any male citizen or foreign national may express an opinion or air a
grievance at a majlis--an open-door meeting held by the King, a Prince, or
an important national or local official. However, as governmental
functions have become more complex, time-consuming, and centralized,
public access to senior officials has become more restricted. Since the
assassination of King Faisal in 1975, Saudi kings have reduced the
frequency of their personal contacts with the public. Ministers and
district governors more readily grant audiences at a majlis.
Typical topics raised in a majlis are complaints about
bureaucratic delay or insensitivity, requests for personal redress or
assistance, and criticism of particular acts of government affecting
family welfare. Broader "political" concerns--social, economic,
or foreign policy--are rarely raised. Complaints about royal abuses of
power would not be entertained. In general, journalists, academics, and
businessmen believe that institutionalized avenues of domestic criticism
of the regime are closed. Feedback is filtered through private personal
channels and during the year affected policy issues such as the Middle
East peace process, unemployment of young Saudi men, and the construction
of new infrastructure.
The Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights, an
opposition group, was established in 1993. The Government acted almost
immediately to repress it. In 1994 one of its founding members, Mohammed
al-Masari, fled to the United Kingdom, where he sought political asylum
and established an overseas branch of the CDLR. In 1996 internal divisions
within the CDLR spawned the rival Islamic Reform Movement (IRM), headed by
Sa'ad al-Eaqih. Al-Masari expressed the CDLR's "understanding"
of two fatal terrorist bombings of American military facilities in 1995
and 1996 and sympathy for the perpetrators. The IRM implicitly condoned
the two terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia also, arguing that they were a
natural outgrowth of a political system that does not tolerate peaceful
dissent. Both groups continue to criticize the Government, using computers
and facsimile transmissions to send newsletters back to Saudi Arabia.
Women play no formal role in government and politics and
are actively discouraged from doing so. Participation by women in a majlis
is restricted, although some women seek redress through female members of
the royal family. At least 3 of the 90 members of the Majlis Ash-Shura are
Shi'a.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding
International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of
Human Rights
There are no publicly active human rights groups, and
the Government has made it clear that none critical of government policies
will be permitted. Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch
reported that they received no responses to their requests for information
or access to the country.
The Government does not permit visits by international
human rights groups or independent monitors, nor has it fully acceded to
all major international human rights treaties and conventions. The
Government disagrees with internationally accepted definitions of human
rights and views its interpretation of Islamic law as the only necessary
guide to protect human rights. The Government generally ignores, or
condemns as attacks on Islam, citations of Saudi human rights abuses by
international monitors or foreign governments.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
There is legal and systemic discrimination based on sex
and religion. The law forbids discrimination based on race, but not
nationality. The Government and private organizations cooperate in
providing services for the disabled. The Shi'a religious minority suffers
social, legal, and sectarian discrimination.
Women
The Government does not keep statistics on spousal or
other forms of violence against women. However, based on the limited
amount of information available regarding physical spousal abuse and
violence against women, such violence and abuse appear to be a problem.
Hospital workers report that many women are admitted for treatment of
injuries that apparently result from spousal violence. Some foreign women
have suffered physical abuse from their Saudi husbands. A Saudi man can
prevent his wife and any child or unmarried adult daughter from obtaining
an exit visa to depart Saudi Arabia (see Section 2.d.).
Foreign embassies continued to receive many reports that
employers abuse foreign women working as domestic servants. Some embassies
of countries with large domestic servant populations maintain safehouses
to which their citizens may flee to escape work situations that include
forced confinement, withholding of food, beating and other physical abuse,
and rape. Often the reported abuse is at the hands of female Saudis. In
general, the Government considers such cases family matters and does not
intervene unless charges of abuse are brought to its attention. It is
almost impossible for foreign women to obtain redress in the courts due to
the courts' strict evidentiary rules and the women's own fears of
reprisals. Few employers have been punished for such abuses. There are no
private support groups or religious associations to assist such women.
By religious law and social custom, women have the right
to own property and are entitled to financial support from their husbands
or male relatives. However, women have few political or social rights and
are not treated as equal members of society. There are no active women's
rights groups. Women, including foreigners, may not legally drive motor
vehicles and are restricted in their use of public facilities when men are
present. Women must enter city buses by separate rear entrances and sit in
specially designated Sections. Women risk arrest by the Mutawwa'in for
riding in a vehicle driven by a male who is not an employee or a close
male relative. Women are not admitted to a hospital for medical treatment
without the consent of a male relative. By law and custom, women may not
undertake domestic or foreign travel alone (see Section 2.d.).
In public a woman is expected to wear an abaya, a black
garment covering the entire body, and to also cover her head and face. The
Mutawwa'in generally expect women from Arab countries, Asia, and Africa to
comply more fully with Saudi customs of dress than they do Western women;
nonetheless, in recent years they have instructed Western women to wear
the abaya and cover their hair. In 1997 Mutawwa'in continued to admonish
and harass women to wear their abayas and cover their hair.
Some government officials and ministries still bar
accredited female diplomats in Saudi Arabia from official meetings and
diplomatic functions.
Women are also subject to discrimination under Islamic
law, which stipulates that daughters receive half the inheritance awarded
to their brothers. In a Shari'a court, the testimony of one man equals
that of two women (see Section 1.e.). Although Islamic law permits
polygyny, it is becoming less common. Islamic law enjoins a man to treat
each wife equally. In practice such equality is left to the discretion of
the husband. Some women participated in al-Mesyar (or "short daytime
visit") marriages, where the women relinquish their legal rights to
financial support and nighttime cohabitation. Additionally, the husband is
not required to inform his other wives of the marriage, and the children
have no inheritance rights. The Government places greater restrictions on
women than on men regarding marriage to non-Saudis and non-Muslims (see
Section 1.f.).
Women must demonstrate legally specified grounds for
divorce, but men may divorce without giving cause. If divorced or widowed,
a woman normally may keep her children until they attain a specified age:
7 years for boys, 9 years for girls. Children over these ages are awarded
to the divorced husband or the deceased husband's family. Numerous
divorced women who are foreigners continued to be prevented by their
former husbands from visiting their children after divorce.
Women have access to free, but segregated, education
through the university level. They constitute 55 percent of all university
graduates but are excluded from studying subjects such as engineering,
journalism, and architecture. Men may study overseas; women may do so only
if accompanied by a spouse or an immediate male relative.
Women make up approximately 5 percent of the work force.
Most employment opportunities for women are in education and health care,
with lesser opportunity in business, philanthropy, banking, retail sales,
and the media. In 1997 the Government authorized women to work in a
limited capacity in the hotel industry. Women wishing to enter
nontraditional fields are subject to discrimination. Women may not accept
jobs in rural areas if they are required to live apart from their
families. All workplaces where women are present are segregated by sex.
Contact with male supervisors or clients is allowed by telephone or
facsimile machine. In 1995 the Ministry of Commerce announced that women
would no longer be issued business licenses for work in fields that might
require them to supervise foreign workers, interact with male clients, or
deal on a regular basis with government officials.
Children
The Government provides all children with free education
and medical care. Children are not subject to the strict social
segregation faced by women, though they are segregated by sex in schools
starting at the age of 7. In more general social situations, boys are
segregated at the age of 12 and girls at the onset of puberty.
It is difficult to gauge the prevalence of child abuse,
since the Government keeps no statistics on such cases and is disinclined
to infringe on family privacy. Societal abuse of children does not appear
to be a major problem.
People with Disabilities
The provision of government social services has
increasingly brought the disabled into the public domain. The media carry
features lauding the public accomplishments of disabled persons and
sharply criticizing parents who neglect disabled children. The Government
and private charitable organizations cooperate in education, employment,
and other services for the disabled. The law provides hiring quotas for
the disabled. While there is no legislation for public accessibility,
newer commercial buildings often include such access.
Religious Minorities
Shi'a citizens are discriminated against in government
and employment, especially in national security jobs. Several years ago
the Government subjected Shi'a to employment restrictions in the oil
industry and has not relaxed them. Since the Iranian revolution, some
Shi'a suspected of subversion have been subjected periodically to
surveillance and limitations on travel abroad. Since the authorities began
investigating the 1996 bombing of an American military installation, they
have detained and interrogated an increased number of Shi'a, including
Shi'a returning to Saudi Arabia following travel to Iran (see Sections 1.d
and 2.d.).
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Although racial discrimination is illegal, there is
substantial societal prejudice based on ethnic or national origin. Foreign
workers from Africa and Asia are subject to various forms of formal and
informal discrimination and have the most difficulty in obtaining justice
for their grievances. For example, pay scales for identical or similar
labor or professional services are set by nationality such that two
similarly qualified and experienced foreign nationals performing the same
employment duties will receive different compensation based on their
nationalities (see Section 6.b.).
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
Government decrees prohibit the establishment of labor
unions and any strike activity.
In 1995 Saudi Arabia was suspended from the U.S.
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) insurance programs because
of the Government's lack of compliance with internationally recognized
worker rights standards.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Collective bargaining is forbidden. Foreign workers
comprise about half of the work force. There is no minimum wage; wages are
set by employers and vary according to the type of work performed and the
nationality of the worker (see Section 5).
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The Government prohibits forced or compulsory labor
pursuant to a 1962 royal decree that abolished slavery. Ratification of
the International Labor Organization (ILO) Conventions 29 and 105, which
prohibit forced labor, gives them the force of law. However, employers
have significant control over the movements of foreign employees, giving
rise to situations that might involve forced labor, especially in remote
areas where workers are unable to leave their place of work.
Some sponsors prevented foreign workers from obtaining
exit visas to pressure them to sign a new work contract or to drop claims
against their employers for unpaid salary (see Section 2.d.). In another
pressure tactic, some sponsors refused to provide foreign workers with a
"letter of no objection" that would allow them to be employed by
another sponsor.
The labor laws do not protect domestic servants. There
were credible reports that female domestic servants were sometimes forced
to work 12 to 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. There were numerous confirmed
reports of runaway maids (see Section 5). The authorities often returned
runaway maids to their employers against the maids' wishes.
There have been many reports of workers whose employers
refused to pay several months, or even years, of accumulated salary or
other promised benefits. Nondomestic workers with such grievances have the
right to complain before the labor courts, but few do so because of fear
of deportation. The labor system abets the exploitation of foreign workers
because enforcement of work contracts is difficult and generally favors
employers. Labor cases can take many months to reach a final appellate
ruling, during which time the employer can prevent the foreign laborer
from leaving the country; alternatively, an employer can delay a case
until a worker's funds are exhausted and the worker is forced to return to
his home country.
The law does not specifically prohibit forced or bonded
labor by children. Nonetheless, with the rare exception of criminal
begging rings, and the possible exceptions of family businesses, forced or
bonded child labor does not occur (see Section 6.d.). In 1997 the
Government actively sought to eradicate forced child begging. According to
reports, criminal rings consisting almost exclusively of foreigners bought
and imported South Asian children, including disabled children. Ring
organizers systematically forced the children to beg in the streets and
then confiscated all money that the children gained. Saudi authorities
arrested some ring organizers and returned at least 76 children to their
own countries.
d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for
Employment
The minimum age for employment is 13 years of age, which
may be waived by the Ministry of Labor with the consent of the juvenile's
guardian. There is no minimum age for workers employed in family oriented
businesses or in other situations that are construed as extensions of the
household, e.g., farmers, herdsmen, and domestic servants. The law does
not specifically prohibit forced or bonded labor by children, but it is
not a problem, with the rare exception of forced child begging rings, and,
possibly, family businesses (see Section 6.c.).
Children under the age of 18 and women may not be
employed in hazardous or harmful industries, such as mining and industries
employing power-operated machinery. While there is no formal government
entity charged with enforcing the minimum age for employment of children,
the Ministry of Justice has jurisdiction and has acted as plaintiff in the
few cases that have arisen against alleged violators. In general, however,
children play a minimal role in the work force.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
There is no legal minimum wage. Labor regulations
establish a 48-hour workweek at regular pay and allow employers to require
up to 12 additional hours of overtime at time-and-a-half pay. Labor law
provides for a 24-hour rest period, normally Fridays, although the
employer may grant it on another day.
Some foreign nationals who have been recruited abroad
have complained that after arrival in Saudi Arabia they were presented
with work contracts specifying lower wages and fewer benefits than
originally promised. Other foreign workers have reportedly signed
contracts in their home countries and were later pressured to sign less
favorable contracts upon arrival. Some employees report that at the end of
their contract service, their employers refuse to grant permission to
allow them to return home. Some female domestic servants were often
subject to abuse (see Sections 5 and 6.c.).
Saudiization is the Government's attempt to decrease the
number of expatriates working in certain occupations and to replace them
with Saudi workers. To this end, the Government has taken several long
term steps, most notably limiting employment in certain fields to Saudis,
by prohibiting renewal of existing contracts, and requiring that open
positions be filled by Saudi workers. There is a limited number of
persons, both influential and otherwise, who attempt to circumvent the
requirements of the law. For example, employers have altered job
descriptions or hired foreigners for nominally low-level positions but in
fact had them fill Saudi positions. Furthermore, influential persons may
effectively circumvent the law because the Ministry of Labor is simply
unwilling to confront them.
The campaign to remove illegal immigrants from the
country did little if anything to Saudiize the economy since illegal
immigrants largely work in low-income positions, which most Saudis
consider unsuitable. The campaign did, however, improve overall working
conditions for legally employed immigrants in low-income positions. The
Government carried out the campaign by widely publishing its intent to
enforce existing laws against illegal immigrants and Saudis employing or
sponsoring illegal immigrants. At the same time, the Government offered an
amnesty of several months duration, which allowed illegal immigrants and
their employers or sponsors to avoid the possibility of prosecution by
voluntarily seeking expeditious repatriation. Not less than 200,000
persons departed the country under terms of the amnesty. In the process,
the Government bowed to domestic pressure and granted grace periods and
exemptions for certain categories of illegal immigrants, thereby allowing
many illegal immigrants to legalize their status without leaving the
country. The effect of the expeditious repatriation of some illegal
immigrants and the legalization of others has been to improve overall
working conditions for legally employed expatriates. Illegal immigrants
are generally willing to accept lower salaries and fewer benefits than
legally employed immigrants. Their departure or legalization reduced the
competition for certain jobs and thereby reduced the incentive for legal
immigrants to accept lower wages and fewer benefits as a means of
competing with illegal immigrants. Furthermore, the departure or
legalization removed a large portion of the class of persons most
vulnerable to abuse and exploitation because of their illegal status.
The ILO has stated that the Government has not
formulated legislation implementing the ILO Convention on Equal Pay and
that regulations that segregate work places by sex or limit vocational
programs for women violate ILO Convention 111.
Labor regulations require employers to protect most
workers from job-related hazards and disease. Foreign nationals report
frequent failures to enforce health and safety standards. Farmers,
herdsmen, domestic servants, and workers in family operated businesses are
not covered by these regulations. Workers risk their employment if they
were to remove themselves from hazardous work conditions.