The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) call upon the United Nations General Assembly to suspend the membership rights of Saudi Arabia in the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), and to ensure it is not elected to another term based on its poor human rights record.

Human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia are subjected to arrest, trials, lengthy sentences, lashings and the closure of their human rights groups as a result of their peaceful activities. Many remain in detention where they are subjected to ongoing ill treatment. The rights of women and girls continue to be violated and on-line activists are targeted for exercising their right to freedom of opinion and expression. Human rights defenders continue to appear before the Specialized Criminal Court, whose jurisdiction is to deal with terrorism-related matters.

Human rights defenders face reprisals for co-operating legitimately with United Nations mechanisms. Mohammed Al-Bajadi, Co-founder of the Association for Civil and Political Rights in Saudi Arabia (ACPRA) and the host of an online forum entitled “The citizen and his rights”, was detained in solitary confinement in 2011 after communicating with the UN about the case of Sultan Al-Daees, who is suspected to have been killed under torture in Saudi prisons.

The Saudi government issued a travel ban against activist Samar Badawi in 2014 after she spoke at the HRC on behalf of imprisoned Saudi activist Waleed Abu Al-Khair. Several other Saudi human rights defenders who have cooperated with the UN have been imprisoned.

Among those sentenced to lashings is human rights defender Mikhlif Al-Shammari, sentenced to 200 lashes and two years in prison in 2014 for online postings promoting peace and mutual understanding. Raif Badawi, Co-founder and editor of the website Liberal Saudi Network, was arrested and sentenced to 1000 lashes, as well as 10 years in prison.

Many human rights defenders suffer torture at the hands of Saudi authorities as they remain in unlawful detention. In September 2015, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) maintained that the detention of nine human rights defenders, Waleed Abu Al-Khair, Dr. Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Dr. Abdullah Al-Hamid, Dr. Abdulkarim Al-Khodr, Raif Badawi, Mohammad Al-Bajadi, Fadel Al-Manasef, Sulaiman Al-Rashudi, Omar Al-Sa’id, was arbitrary and called for their immediate release.

Since Saudi Arabia’s election to the HRC in 2013, it has committed systematic human rights violations, including carrying out over 350 executions. Saudi Arabia leads the military coalition fighting in Yemen, which has perpetrated numerous attacks in violation of international humanitarian law, including airstrikes, which have reportedly killed over 3,500 civilians and wounded over 6,000.

Saudi Arabia has used its position on the HRC to effectively block the establishment of an independent international investigation into these atrocities in Yemen, despite member states and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights calling for such an investigation.

Furthermore, despite its election pledges – when standing for HRC membership – that it would cooperate with UN mechanisms, it currently has seven outstanding requests from the Council’s Special Procedures to visit the country, some of which are 10 years old.

GCHR and ANHRI believe that Saudi Arabia’s performance since it has joined the UNHRC is deplorable and threatens the credibility of the Council as it approaches its tenth anniversary. 

UN member states should ensure that the HRC does not face the same loss of credibility as its predecessor, the UN Commission on Human Rights. 

In accordance with the General Assembly Resolution 60/251, a member of the Council “that commits gross and systematic violations of human rights” may be suspended by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting. Libya is the only country that has been suspended by the HRC so far.

GCHR and ANHRI call on member states to ensure that Saudi Arabia is not re-elected to the HRC for the 2017-2019 term and further calls for the immediate suspension of Saudi Arabia from the current HRC.