Shoura asks HRC to train Saudis as human rights experts, investigators

RIYADH: A panel of the Shoura Council has asked the Saudi Human Rights Commission (HRC) to lay down criteria for establishing national societies concerned with human rights in coordination with the Ministry of Labor and Social Development.
The call came within a series of recommendations presented by the Committee of Human Rights and Regulatory Bodies based on the annual report of the Saudi Human Rights Commission (HRC) at the Council’s 28th ordinary session on Monday.
The panel also called on the HRC to train Saudi citizens on human rights issues to work as experts and investigators in the international organizations.
One Shoura member said scarcity of national personnel in the area of human rights requires cooperation with the United Nations Human Rights Commission and Saudi universities to bridge the gap in specialties required by the Saudi Human Rights Commission.
Another member said there was a need to provide a balance between the local and international presence for the HRC. The Shoura member also asked the HRC to be close to many cases including the helpless, widows, people with unknown parents, and Saudis living abroad.
Another member asked the Shoura Council to correct what is being circulated by foreign media on human rights cases in the Kingdom.
Later, Shoura Council members listened to a report by the Committee of Economy and Energy based on the annual report of the General Authority of Statistics (GAS). The Council asked the GAS to prepare an input-output matrix between different government sectors.
The Council also listened to another report presented by the Committee of Islamic and Judiciary Affairs on a study prepared by a committee related to imposing fees arising from delay of payment of dues to the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) as it came in the GACA’s tariff system.