The Protection of Human Rights in Saudi Counter-terrorism Laws

Abstract

Human rights constitute a significant aspect of the law. Human rights are protected by national and international legal and judicial apparatuses. In addition, promoting respect for human rights is a key purpose of the United Nations (UN) and its international bodies, such as the UN Human Rights Council, established in 2006, and the International Criminal Court, created in 1998. The UN has also issued a variety of protocols, declarations and agreements regarding human rights and their protection, specifically the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights in 1966. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Saudi legislation has initiated and allowed various Saudi human rights institutions, namely the Saudi Human Rights Commission and Saudi National Society for Human Rights. In particular, Saudi legislation has focused on Sharia principles when it comes to the interpretation and implementation of secular international human rights laws. Saudi legislation has enacted a variety of contemporary human rights laws, including the Child Protection Law and the Law of Protection from Abuse. The human cost of terrorism has been felt virtually in every part of the globe. Terrorism has disrupted peace, security, liberty and physical integrity of individuals at every level. Protection and security of its individuals is a fundamental obligation of the state. Accordingly, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has taken several legal measures, allowed under Islamic Sharia and International laws, to ensure the protection of human rights of its citizens and residents and safeguard the society against possible threats of terrorism and bring the criminals to justice. Saudi legislation has ensured human rights applications in other Saudi criminal laws, such as the Saudi Criminal Procedure Law of 2002, amended in 2014 (hereinafter SCPL), and the Saudi Law of Terrorist Crimes of 2014 (hereinafter SLTC). This short commentary provides a concise summary about the existing Saudi legislation related to terrorist crimes and human rights protection. of what we have created, with [definite] preference” [5]. Moreover, Article 26 of the Saudi Basic Law of Governance states that “The State shall protect human rights in accordance with the Islamic Sharia” [6]. Therefore, it can be seen that the protection of human rights in Saudi Arabia is constitutional since it is encouraged by Islamic principles and Saudi laws. Human rights are usually discussed with specific regard to the implementation of criminal punishment and procedure. Therefore, human rights are the subject matter of lots of international debates and conferences. In recent times, the majority of the countries all over the world, and especially Saudi Arabia, have suffered from terrorism. Saudi Arabia has enacted a variety of criminal laws that look after the benefits of Saudi society, one of which is the Saudi Law of Terrorist Crimes (SLTC). This law examines terrorism incidents and facilitates Saudi authorities to protect the society from terrorism and terrorists. This law contains 41 legal clauses. It explains the criminal procedure for terrorist crimes as well as referring to the superior law, which is Saudi Criminal Procedure Law (SCPL), and addresses any legal clause that is not provided in the SLTC (Article 40 of the SLTC). This commentary briefly looks at human rights protection identified under the SLTC.