Saudi Government Agencies to Have Human Rights Liaison Officer

FILE PHOTO: View shows the King Abdullah Financial District, north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
FILE PHOTO: View shows the King Abdullah Financial District, north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
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Saudi Government Agencies to Have Human Rights Liaison Officer

FILE PHOTO: View shows the King Abdullah Financial District, north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser
FILE PHOTO: View shows the King Abdullah Financial District, north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser

The Saudi government has approved a number of human rights positions assigned to legal departments within state agencies.

According to the new decision, every department will now have a human rights liaison officer to follow up on complaints received by the relevant human rights committees.

The officer will also assume a number of duties, including raising awareness on human rights within state departments, holding training activities, issuing visual materials and publications, in close coordination with the Saudi Human Rights Commission.

The liaison officer will also monitor the good implementation of human rights treaties which Saudi Arabia is party to, and keep pace with the recommendations and directives issued by the relevant international and UN bodies on human rights mechanisms.

Other tasks include disclosing violations against human rights within the state entities, notifying the relevant authority to take the necessary measures to address them, and building advanced databases for the administration in the relevant authorities to provide statistical data, in coordination with the Human Rights Commission.



Saudi FM Reiterates Kingdom’s Rejection of Displacement of Palestinians

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah speaks at the press conference on Friday. (SPA)
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah speaks at the press conference on Friday. (SPA)
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Saudi FM Reiterates Kingdom’s Rejection of Displacement of Palestinians

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah speaks at the press conference on Friday. (SPA)
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah speaks at the press conference on Friday. (SPA)

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah reiterated on Friday the Kingdom’s rejection of the displacement of Palestinians from their territories.

During a news conference following the "Antalya Ministerial Meeting on the Two-State Solution and Permanent Peace in the Middle East" in Türkiye, he stressed the importance of an immediate return to the ceasefire in Gaza.

The ceasefire must be sustainable, serve as a path to alleviate the suffering of the people of Gaza, and be the beginning of a final solution to the Palestinian cause through the establishment of a Palestinian state, he declared.

"The entry of aid to Gaza cannot be linked to a ceasefire, as this violates the foundations of international law, and preventing aid from reaching the Gaza Strip and using it as a tool of war is also a flagrant violation of all norms and the foundations of international law and is rejected by all," Prince Faisal said.

He called on the international community to exert all pressure to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches civilians in Gaza without interruption and in sufficient quantities.

He expressed the Kingdom's categorical rejection of all forms of displacement of the Palestinian people from their lands, even if it is through voluntary departure, considering that the Palestinians in Gaza are being deprived of most necessities of life.

"If aid is not entering, if the residents of Gaza are deprived of food, drink, and electricity, and if they are threatened every day with military bombardment, then even if one of them is forced to leave, that is not voluntary but a form of coercion. Therefore, it must be clear that any displacement of Palestinians in Gaza under any pretext is categorically rejected," he added.

Prince Faisal stressed that the Arab and Islamic group is committed to a comprehensive peace that guarantees the security of all in the region and guarantees the rights, security, and future of the Palestinian people within the framework of their independent state.