UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 48) Political and public participation: Pursuant to Royal Decree No. A/44 of 12 January 2013, article 3 of the Shura Council Act was amended to enable women, who had until then participated in the work of the Council as advisors only, to acquire full membership of the Council and occupy a minimum of 20 per cent of the seats. The members of the new session of the Shura Council were designated pursuant to Royal Decree No. A/45, promulgated on 12 January 2013, and included 30 women.

Para 49) Approval has been given for women to stand for and be elected to membership of municipal councils as from the next session in 2014. Saudi women hold high public office and are now important partners in influential political decision-making, serving as they do in leadership positions as ministers, deputy ministers and senior officials.

Para 50) Chapter IV, section II, of the Enforcement Act includes provisions on enforcement in matters of personal status and addresses the topics of custody, maintenance, visits and marital issues. In the interests of family conciliation, mediation sections were set up in the courts and in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in order to resolve problems and ensure family welfare. These sections play a ground-breaking role in bringing about domestic harmony.

Para 52) ... For its part, the Ministry of Labour has issued a number of decisions designed to accelerate the recruitment of women in various private-sector spheres (including women's shops, retailing and factories).

Para 55) Raising awareness of women's rights: Government entities and civil society organizations together ran a national campaign to raise women's awareness of the laws and measures in place to protect their rights, particularly with respect to, inter alia, social welfare services and personal status procedures for the registration of marriages, divorces and births. In parallel with these efforts, such NGOs as Mawwadah, which is concerned with women's affairs, implemented a number of voluntary programmes for providing legal, social and psychological advice to women.

Para 56) Saudi women married to non-nationals: Pursuant to Cabinet Decision No. 406 of 12 November 2012, approval was given for the sponsorship of children of Saudi women married to non-nationals to be transferred to their mother if they are resident in the Kingdom. If they are abroad, their mother is entitled to send for them and the State shoulders the cost of their resident permits. They are also permitted to work in the private sector without any transfer of the sponsorship. They receive the same schooling and medical treatment as any Saudi and are included in the Saudization percentages for the private sector. Saudi women married to non-nationals are further permitted to bring their spouse to the Kingdom if he is abroad or, if he is resident in the Kingdom and so wishes, to have his sponsorship transferred to her. The spouse is also permitted to work in the private sector, provided that he has a recognized passport. In addition, pursuant to Cabinet Decision No. 152 of 25 March 2013, female international scholarship students married to non-nationals are awarded the same monthly allowance as women married to Saudi men.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 61) JS4, JS1, ECLJ and HRW noted that although recommendations 17, 18, 19 and 20 had been accepted during the 2009 UPR, little has been done to genuinely implement them.

National Report:
Para 28) Two human rights instruments — the ICCPR and … — are currently being studied by a high-level governmental committee with a view to accession. Under article 5(4) of its charter, the Human Rights Commission may express an opinion on international human rights instruments and accession thereto.

National Report:
Para 39) ... It is should be mentioned that new child protection laws have been passed in which a child is defined as "anyone under 18 years of age", as made clear in the report.

Para 57) The Children's Act defines a child as "anyone under 18 years of age" ... The Act was approved by the Cabinet on 24 December 2012.

Para 64) The Ministry of Social Affairs is currently preparing an implementing regulation on the procedural mechanisms for application of the Child Protection Act. This Act complements the draft law on protection from abuse, which prohibits all forms of abuse against all of the groups most vulnerable to violence, particularly women and children, and establishes national mechanisms for protecting these groups. Expectations are that the draft law will be passed in the near future. The Ministry has also undertaken the following:
- Signed memoranda of cooperation with a number of civil society organizations and charitable societies for the provision of sheltered accommodation for groups at risk of violence;
- Signed a memorandum of cooperation with King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology for the implementation of a national strategy to combat domestic violence and deliver awareness programmes;
- Set up a call centre for receiving reports of violence against women, which is reached by dialling 1919;
- Implemented Cabinet Decision No. 366 of December 2008, which prescribes measures for curbing the problem of domestic violence, including the accelerated opening of social protection units throughout the Kingdom.

Para 67) Working in cooperation with the Family Safety Programme, the Ministry of Education established procedural mechanisms for identifying and reporting cases of violence in schools, through the child helpline, and appointed its own coordinators for the provinces and governorates. Programmes were also launched to raise awareness of children's rights. These included programmes for ... giving voice to girl students.

UN Compilation:
Para 47) A 2013 United Nations Statistics Division source indicated that employment-to- population ratio of women decreased from 15.3 per cent in 2008 to 14.6 per cent in 2009.

Para 55) The 2010 Millennium Development Goals (MDG) report indicated that, despite the relatively late start in education of girls, rates of enrolment of girls' at all educational levels had increased sharply.

Para 56) ... UNESCO noted that a number of positive developments had resulted in significant improvements in women's literacy rates within a relatively short period of time. However, concerns had been raised that the overall aim of girls' education which was to prepare them for their "roles" as mothers and wives has not changed over the past 40 years.

Para 58) A 2013 UNSD source indicated that the net enrolment ratio in primary education for girls increased from 86.1 per cent in 2008 to 89.4 in 2009.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 20) ... AI, JS1, ECLJ and HRW noted that no effective legal and practical measures have been put in place to criminalize violence against women. HRW stated the government failed to enact the 2011 draft law to combat violence against women and children.

Para 34) ... JS4 noted that no effective mechanism to prevent domestic violence has been implemented and the Protection from Harm Act has not been enacted.

Para 61) JS4, JS1, ECLJ and HRW noted that although recommendations 17, 18, 19 and 20 had been accepted during the 2009 UPR, little has been done to genuinely implement them. JS1 noted the positive step with the two royal decrees in 2013 amending the Consultative Council's law, granting women thirty seats on the Council and stipulating at least 20% women's representation at the Council and recommended an increase in access to decision-making positions, in all public positions.

Para 62) HRW noted the adoption of legislative reforms expanding women's rights in the workforce by allowing them to work in limited areas such as clothing stores. While such reforms represent important steps forward, their efficacy is limited by the male guardianship system.