The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, stated that Saudi Arabia is still illegally detaining individuals, and urged the Kingdom to support freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.
During the discussions of the second item of the 46th session of the Human Rights Council, Bachelet regretted the unjustly continued detention of women, while welcoming the recent release of the human rights campaigner Loujain Al-Hathloul. According to the monitoring of the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR), Saudi Arabia is still detaining at least 54 women, including human rights defenders and activists. In addition, it continues to violate the rights of those who are released. Despite the recent release of Al-Hathloul after more than two years of arbitrary detention, she is still not allowed to travel, and her movement is greatly restricted.
The High Commissioner referred to the plans announced by Saudi Arabia regarding the adoption of new legislation related to family law and personal status. However, Bachelet urged Saudi Arabia to establish legislative frameworks to uphold the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has stated, in the context of announcing legislative changes, that there was a “discrepancy in rulings and a lack of clarity in the rules governing facts and practices, which led to a prolonged period of litigation that is not based on statutory texts.” Despite this, no decisions have been made in laws and legislation to uphold the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association, and dozens of human rights defenders and protesters are in prison for their activism.
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights notes that the High Commissioner criticized Saudi Arabia’s practices several times in previous sessions of the Council since she has taken office. The organization stresses that human rights reforms in Saudi Arabia will remain limited to political propaganda if they are not accompanied by the immediate release of prisoners of conscience and human rights defenders, by ensuring their rights to practice their activities, and by holding violators accountable.