The Human and the Not-So-Human
Abeer Mishkhas, abeermishkhas@arabnews.com

The anticipated first report by the Saudi Human Rights Society is likely to shed a good deal of light on many cases of unnoticed and unreported human rights abuses in the Kingdom. The fact that the report is going to be issued by a Saudi committee, the first of its kind, makes it even more interesting. Now we must be realistic and admit the possibility that the report will touch on important issues without going into details or that the wording will be cautious. Still, in any case, I still think it is an important step, one we definitely hope will be followed by a number of similar others.

The past week also saw the first visit by Human Rights Watch (HRW) to Saudi Arabia. In a press release the organization said “Saudi officials have talked to us candidly about human rights in the Kingdom,” and the organization obviously wanted free access to prisons. The fact that the committee was allowed into the country and given reasonably good access to many areas is a very good step forward and definitely worth following up with more cooperation. Such visits reflect well on our country and they show both development and changes. They also send a message that our country is like others — it has problems to be solved and we are aware of them and are willing to admit and discuss them.

Writing in Arab News, Abeer Mishkhas notes that the Saudi Human Rights Society is already making some improvement in the plight of average Saudis. There’s far more to be done, she says.