Since 2009, Dr. Bandar Al-Aiban has been president of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, a government body founded in 2005 to defend human rights.
Addressing the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva recently, he said the Kingdom strikes a balance “between achieving the best systems and practices in the field of human rights, and the right to the development and preservation of the values of Saudi society.”
Al-Aiban was born in Riyadh in 1954, and is a former member of the Shoura Council. In 1979, he graduated from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles with a bachelor’s degree in industrial and systems engineering.
He holds a master’s degree in public administration from the same university, and a Ph.D. in philosophy, political science and international relations from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
His experience includes working for the Saudi Arabian National Guard as an undersecretary, and in its office at the Saudi Embassy in Washington.
