• Human Rights In Saudi Arabia

    Saudis are increasingly and openly discussing government affairs on Twitter and Facebook-a ban on women driving, arbitrary detention of peaceful dissidents and terror suspects, and corruption, among others-but the government in 2011 banned public protests, tightened press laws, and arrested scores of peaceful rights advocates and protesters. Saudi Arabia struggles with a poorly defined and nontransparent justice system based on religion that metes out draconian sentences. Women and minority Shia citizens face systematic discrimination. Immigration and labor restrictions on migrant workers facilitate widespread abuse. Western countries remained largely silent about poor rights conditions in the kingdom.

  • The female basketball team of Jeddah United warm up in Jordan on April 21, 2009. Jeddah United is the only private sports company with women’s teams.
    © 2009 Reuters
    Saudi Arabia: Sports Minister Confirms Women’s Exclusion

    The Saudi sports minister and head of the Saudi National Olympic Committee confirmed on April 4, 2012, that Saudi Arabia will not support women in practicing sports. Prince Nawwaf al-Faisal said: “Female sports activity has not existed [in the kingdom] and there is no move thereto in this regard.”

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Saudi Arabia

  • IOC: Olympic Hurdles for Saudi Women Persist
    May 23, 2012
    As the clock ticks down to the July opening ceremony, all nations except Saudi Arabia have confirmed that women athletes will participate in the London 2012 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee’s executive board is meeting in Quebec City from May 23 through May 25 to hear reports on the upcoming Games.
  • Justice Saudi-Style – Treat “Peaceful” Dissidents as Terrorists
    May 3, 2012

    The counter-terrorism court in Saudi Arabia is wrongly targeting people who criticise government policy and religious institutions as well as those who advocate greater respect for the rule of law – says campaign group.

  • Saudi Arabia: Abolish Terrorism Court
    Apr 27, 2012
    Saudi Arabia should abolish the Specialized Criminal Court, set up in 2008 to try terrorism cases, but increasingly used to try peaceful dissidents and rights activists on politicized charges and in proceedings that violate the right to a fair trial. In April, it sentenced two people to prison for their peaceful activism, and the trials of at least four others are ongoing, in violation of their rights to freedom of expression.
  • Saudi Arabia: A Step to Aid Migrant Workers
    Apr 10, 2012
    The Saudi Labor Ministry’s proposal to abolish the employer-based “sponsorship” system is a positive step for migrant workers. The system fuels human rights abuses against migrants by tying their legal residency in the country to one employer.
  • Saudi Arabia: Sports Minister Confirms Women’s Exclusion
    Apr 5, 2012

    The Saudi sports minister and head of the Saudi National Olympic Committee confirmed on April 4, 2012, that Saudi Arabia will not support women in practicing sports. Prince Nawwaf al-Faisal said: “Female sports activity has not existed [in the kingdom] and there is no move thereto in this regard.”

  • Saudi Arabia: Stop Arbitrary Arrests, Travel Bans on Opposition
    Mar 28, 2012
    Saudi Arabia should end the arbitrary detention and travel bans inflicted on those who peacefully exercise their freedom of speech or assembly. Several intellectuals remain in detention one year or longer for charges relating to their exercise of freedom of speech and assembly, while others have been newly targeted over the past two weeks with bans on foreign travel.
  • Saudi Arabia/IOC: Women’s Olympic Debut Only First Step
    Mar 22, 2012
    Announcements that Saudi Arabia is likely to send women to participate in the 2012 London Olympics for the first time are a positive step toward ending the country’s pervasive discrimination against women in sport. However, Saudi Arabia is still in violation of the Olympic Charter due to its systemic violations of the right for women to participate meaningfully in sport in the kingdom, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) should use its leverage to help affect lasting change for Saudi women.
  • Why a Token Saudi Female Athlete is not Enough
    Mar 21, 2012
    Four months before the start of the 30th Olympic Summer Games in London, the International Olympic Committee needs to put Saudi Arabia’s lack of compliance with the IOC charter on the agenda at its next executive board meeting in May.
  • Lessons from the Saudi “Spring”
    Mar 12, 2012
    The official Saudi response to the attempted protests showed that the government would not cede an inch of political space to popular calls for reform, choosing instead in February and March 2011 to placate Saudi citizens by doling out an estimated $135 billion in subsidies. The ruling Saud family, whose senior members occupy not only the throne but also key ministries and all provincial governorships, clamped down early on dissent. But for all government efforts to project an air of normality and suppress protests, popular displays of discontent continue.
  • Statement on sports and human rights at the UN Human Rights Council
    Feb 27, 2012
    Human Rights Watch has long taken the position that there cannot be successful sporting events, such as the Olympic Games, in an environment where serious human rights abuses are occurring.
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