Saudi Arabia is running for membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council, with elections scheduled for October 2024. The council is an international body responsible for promoting and protecting human rights around the world. It consists of 47 member states, elected by the United Nations General Assembly for a three-year term. Elections for council membership are held annually to fill seats whose terms are expiring.
In 2020, Saudi Arabia failed to secure membership for the 2021-2023 term during the elections held in the General Assembly Hall in New York on October 13, 2020. Saudi Arabia had nominated itself for a seat in the Asia-Pacific Group, which had four seats contested by five countries. Although its victory was not unlikely due to limited competition, Saudi Arabia failed to even secure two-thirds of the votes, the minimum required to win.
Membership in the council entails the responsibility of upholding high standards of human rights, a criterion insisted upon by the states themselves when establishing the council. It also involves making specific commitments to improving human rights conditions within their borders and internationally.
When nominating and electing candidates, the performance of candidate states in the field of human rights should be considered, including their cooperation with United Nations human rights mechanisms and their record in promoting and protecting human rights.
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights points out that Saudi Arabia's candidacy for the council comes amid a continuous deterioration in the field of human rights. This underscores the responsibility of the states that rejected Saudi Arabia's election in 2020 due to its poor record to take the same stance again.
Position on International Treaties and Mechanisms:
By joining international treaties, states undertake obligations and duties under international law concerning the respect, protection, and implementation of human rights. Saudi Arabia has only agreed to and ratified 6 out of 16 of these treaties.
Despite its continuous claims before the Human Rights Council that it fully cooperates with the mechanisms, the failure to ratify many treaties indicates otherwise. Additionally, Saudi Arabia has long ignored its responsibilities under these treaties, failing to submit periodic reports and respond to inquiries.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has changed its approach to these mechanisms and has started submitting reports on time. However, tracking the information provided reveals deliberate manipulation and whitewashing of the government’s image rather than presenting factual information. This occurs amid additional suppression of civil society and human rights organizations, significantly limiting information from within the country.
| Treaty | Acceptance Status |
| Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women | 07 September 2000 |
| Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities | 24 June 2008 |
| The Convention on the Rights of the Child. | 26 January 1996 |
| Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment | 23 September 1997 |
| International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance | Not accepted |
| International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families | Not accepted |
| International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination | 23 September 1997 |
| Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights | Not accepted |
| Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty | Not accepted |
| Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women | Not accepted |
| Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure | Not accepted |
| Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment | Not accepted |
| Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights | Not accepted |
| Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights | 24 June 2008 |
| International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights | Not accepted |
| International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights | Not accepted |
Human Rights Organizations and Civil Society Inside Saudi Arabia:
In recent years, the crackdown on civil society in Saudi Arabia has intensified, with arbitrary sentences continuing against human rights defenders aimed at silencing their voices from within. According to the organization's monitoring, dozens of activists are imprisoned, while the government imposes travel bans on others, amidst a significant reduction in freedoms and the right to express. This is in addition to the prohibition of establishing and operating human rights organizations domestically and criminalizing communication with international organizations and human rights bodies, including international mechanisms.
As a result, sources of information from within Saudi Arabia have been reduced to a minimum, with only the official Human Rights Commission remaining active on the ground. Monitoring the Commission's work path confirms its lack of independence, and its exploitation by the government to whitewash its image before the international community, where it has played a prominent role in misleading the reality.
Universal Periodic Review:
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a process that involves a review of the human rights records of all 193 UN member states once every four years.
In 2024, Saudi Arabia underwent a review of its human rights situation under this mechanism. Saudi Arabia used its delegation in Geneva and the official Human Rights Commission to whitewash its image and promote fundamental reforms that have no basis in reality. No representative of civil society or human rights defender from within Saudi Arabia attended the various review sessions. Additionally, Saudi Arabia spoke about implementing recommendations over the last four years, including those related to the death penalty, torture, and women's rights. However, these statements contradict the reality of the increasing violations during that period.
Cooperation with Special Rapporteurs:
UN human rights special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to work on specific issues, monitor situations, and provide reports and recommendations on a variety of issues worldwide.
Saudi Arabia claims to cooperate with the offices of special rapporteurs, and recently, it has been participating in most interactive sessions and responding to their communications. However, these responses and discussions are also used to improve the government’s image and engagement before the council without having a real impact. This is evident in the lack of serious handling of information received regarding violations against individuals in individual complaints, and in some cases, executions were carried out against individuals whom rapporteurs and working groups confirmed were arbitrarily detained.
Moreover, Saudi Arabia ignores visit requests submitted by special rapporteurs. Since 2006, it has only hosted four special rapporteurs and has not allowed them, as expected, to meet with activists, civil society, or independent entities.
| Special Rapporteur | Status | Visit Date or Proposed Date |
| Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges | CompletedVisit completed | From 20 October 2002 to 27 October 2002 |
| Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons | Ignored | Period: 2005 |
| Special Rapporteur on violence against women | CompletedVisit completed | From 4 February 2008 to 13 February 2008 |
| Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression | Ignored | 2016 |
| Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty | CompletedVisit completed | From 8 January 2017 to 19 January 2017 |
| Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism | Visit completed | From 30 April 2017 to 4 May 2017 |
| Special Rapporteur on disability | Ignored | 2018 |
| Working Group on discrimination against women and girls | Ignored | 2019 |
| Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants | Ignored | 2019 |
| المقرر الخاص المعني بالإعدام خارج نطاق القضاء أو بإجراءات موجزة أو تعسفاً | Ignored | From 10 February 2019 to 23 February 2019 |
| Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions | Ignored request and reminder | First half of 2020 |
| Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent | Ignored | 2020 |
| Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly | Request submitted and dates proposed | Proposed period: November 2021 |
| Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders | Ignored | First half of 2022 |
| Working Group on Arbitrary Detention | Request submitted and dates proposed | September 2022 - October 2022 |
| Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery | Ignored request then reminder | First half of 2024 |
| Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism | Request currently submitted | 2024 |
| Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances | Request currently submitted | 2025 |
| Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief | Ignored request then reminder | |
| Working Group on the use of mercenaries | Request currently submitted |
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights points out that the role of Human Rights Council members should be to investigate human rights violations and provide recommendations to address them, as well as to develop international standards and policies to promote and protect human rights.
The organization emphasizes that Saudi Arabia, to this day, despite all its claims, has not joined the main international treaties and the two international covenants, and continues to evade its commitments through manipulation. Therefore, it is not worthy of being elected by the member states.