Next week, Saudi Arabia will be reviewed by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child regarding its progress in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). ADHRB submitted its own assessment to the Committee, which highlights a total failure by Saudi Arabia to protect even the most basic rights of the child. Read ADHRB’s full submission here.
Lack of legal protections and bad practices paint a dark picture of Saudi Arabia with regard to child rights, despite obligations under the CRC. ADHRB therefore urges the Government of Saudi Arabia to engage constructively in the upcoming session and to take the following steps towards ensuring the rights of children inside and outside of its borders:
- End all forms of corporal punishment against children;
- Issue a moratorium on the death penalty and particularly ensure that no minors are executed and no individuals are executed for crimes committed as minors
- Duly investigate into all allegations of torture against then- minors Ali Al-Nimr, Dawood Hussein Al-Marhoon and Abdullah Al-Zaher.
- Ensure the access of girls to physical education and end all forms of discrimination against girls;
- Set a minimum age for marriage and ensure appropriate penalties for child marriage;
- End all forms of discrimination against children on the basis of religion and ensure that all religious education endorses non-discrimination and human rights values;
- Adhere to international human rights and international humanitarian law in the Yemen war and stop the targeting of children and civilian infrastructure.
