Saudi Arabia continued with its gradual reform programme in 2013, making incremental improvements, including on human rights, while managing societal resistance to change. Led by the King, we have seen particular improvements in the rights of women, albeit from a low base, with women appointed to the Shura Council, Saudi Arabia's parliamentary body, for the first time. Our concern is the extent to which these changes will be followed by additional improvements to representation and participation in Saudi Arabia, in ways which reinforce the Kingdom's drive for economic diversification underpinned by the promotion and protection of all human rights and the rule of law.

Following an amnesty to allow illegally registered migrant workers to legalise their status, there was a significant campaign to deport those who had not complied with the registration rules, with over 150,000 people removed by the end of 2013. Localised protests and demonstrations took place in Eastern Province, but declined in number over the year. There was also widespread media coverage of the "Women2Drive" campaign on 26 October, with 14 women arrested for driving. All were released the same day. The death penalty continues to be widely used, with 74 confirmed executions in 2013.

In 2014, we expect to see continued if slow progress on rights for women and reforms to parts of the justice system. Human rights defenders (HRDs) and civil society organisations will continue to find it difficult to operate in Saudi Arabia, and the death penalty will remain in place. More reports of long detentions without trial and allegations of torture are likely. Restrictions on freedom of religion or belief will remain.

Our objectives in 2014 will be to continue to support reform and encourage practical dialogue with the government. We will continue to support efforts to increase political participation, transparency, accountability and the effectiveness of Saudi institutions. We will support reforms to the criminal justice system, encouraging the rule of law and ongoing efforts to reduce corruption and to promote freedom and fairness in Saudi society. We will also encourage efforts to reduce discrimination on the grounds of gender, nationality, religion or belief, and offer our full support as the 2015 municipal council elections approach, in which women will be allowed to stand as candidates and vote for the first time.

Saudi Arabia underwent its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in October. Full documentation is available on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The UK submitted questions and made a statement at the UPR, in which we expressed our disappointment that Saudi Arabia had not fulfilled all the recommendations it accepted under the last UPR in 2009, and our hope that these will be given priority. In particular, we called for the abolition of the guardianship system for women, and for the Saudi government to codify its criminal law to bring it into line with international law. In November, Saudi Arabia was elected to the UNHRC and will sit on the UNHRC for the period of 2014-2016.

Elections

Political participation in Saudi Arabia is limited, as there are no political parties and the majority of government bodies are fully appointed by the king. The next elections will be to the municipal councils in 2015, in which half the membership will be elected and half appointed. King Abdullah announced in 2011 that women will be allowed to vote and stand in these elections for the first time in 2015. The UK will continue to encourage increases in democratic representation, and offer our assistance to Saudi Arabia to prepare for the 2015 elections.

Freedom of expression and assembly

Despite being illegal in Saudi Arabia, 2013 saw a number of demonstrations, particularly in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. These were largely peaceful, although there were a number of reports of injuries, including gunshot wounds, among both protestors and the police. The number of protests appears to have reduced during the year, although some continue. Independent and reliable sources are limited, and embassy officials only have restricted access to the Eastern Province and those involved in the unrest. It appears from what public reporting is available that the government response is proportionate and restrained.

In mid-June, a series of peaceful protests were held across Saudi Arabia by women and children calling for relatives imprisoned without charge on suspected terrorist offences to be freed or given a public and fair trial. Dozens of men were also arrested in Buraidah, Qassim Province, for protesting at the imprisonment of relatives on similar charges. Unconfirmed reports suggest that all those arrested for protesting have now been released.

Saudi Arabia's "Women2Drive" campaign on 26 October gained significant national and international media coverage. More than 17,000 people signed an online petition of support and, prior to 26 October, more than 100 women posted footage of themselves driving on the campaign website. On 25 October, the Ministry of Interior released a strong statement warning against participation on the day, but a small number of women were reported as driving vehicles around the country. Police confirmed that 14 women drivers were stopped and all released on the same day after promising not to drive again. Journalist Tariq Al Mubarak was also detained for eight days after supporting the campaign, before being released on 3 November. In a meeting with the British Embassy on 3 November, the Saudi Arabian Human Rights Commission confirmed that there were no further detentions in relation to this campaign. On 31 October, the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Hugh Robertson, raised the issue of women driving in Saudi Arabia with Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the UK. Public opinion in Saudi Arabia continues to be divided about allowing women to drive.

Social media use has continued to increase in Saudi Arabia with reports indicating that up to 41% of the population tweet on a weekly basis. Twitter provides the principal public forum for debate in Saudi Arabia, and was also the basis for the "Women2Drive" campaign. Social media is currently uncensored, although monitored, and there is a vigorous debate in Saudi society about the extent of freedom of speech online, particularly around hate speech and personal criticism, with strong views expressed on both sides by respected figures. There continue to be restrictions on online freedom of expression regarding Islam. In July, the founder of a liberal internet forum, Raif al-Badawi, was sentenced to seven years in prison and 600 lashes for online posts critical of the religious authorities. We have raised this case with the Saudi authorities, and supported EU démarches on the government.

In December 2013, civil society groups expressed concern when the Council of Ministers passed a draft law on counter-terrorism and terrorist financing to the King for ratification. Its broad definition of terrorist crime included acts "undermining the state security or stability, defaming the state of its status" which, if passed, could be used to target legitimate and peaceful activities and political expression. The law was approved on 31 January 2014. We have yet to see how it will be applied in practice.

Human rights defenders

There were a number of arrests of HRDs in 2013, primarily under the law requiring all NGOs to register to operate. To date, no fully independent organisation working on civil and political rights has registered successfully.

In March, Mohammed Fahad al-Qahtani and Abdullah al-Hamad were found guilty of founding an unlicensed human rights organisation, seeking to disrupt security and inciting disorder, undermining national unity, breaking allegiance to the ruler, disobeying the ruler and questioning the integrity of officials. Qahtani received ten years' imprisonment, plus a ten-year travel ban; Hamad received a total of 11 years' imprisonment (five years plus an additional six years from a previous sentence commuted by the king in 2006) and a five-year travel ban. We have raised this case with the Saudi government, and continue to discuss it.

In July, a legal challenge to the decision by the Ministry of Social Affairs to deny a licence to the Adala Centre for Human Rights failed. The trial of Fadel al-Manasef, founding member of the Adala Centre for Human Rights, continues. An embassy official attended a hearing on 27 November; it was adjourned pending further evidence. On 29 October, Waleed Abu al-Khair was sentenced to three months' imprisonment for criticising the judiciary. We continue to follow these and other cases closely, and to attend trials where possible. Some HRDs or their families have asked that the UK does not involve itself in their activities because they believe it undermines their credibility in the country, and may prove counterproductive.

Access to justice and the rule of law

Court proceedings in Saudi Arabia do not comply with international standards. The legal system is Sharia-based, and suffers from delays in bringing defendants to court, with reports of many individuals detained for years without trial. There are no public inquiries, inquests into unnatural deaths, or mechanisms for oversight of the judiciary. There are signs, however, that trials are becoming more transparent, and access is now given to media and diplomatic observers for some trials.

The Ministry of Justice continues to implement an ambitious US$1.6 billion programme of reform, and we will continue to offer our assistance. The Minister of Justice, Mohammed Al Issa, held meetings with legal experts and government ministers when he returned to the UK in December 2013 to follow up on his 2012 visit. Senior Minister of State, Baroness Warsi, raised human rights with the minister, including the right to drive campaign for women, trials and access for embassy staff, and freedom of association, including the need for a system that could successfully authorise NGOs in the kingdom.

The Ministry of Interior has now launched a website, www.nafethah.gov.sa, designed to increase transparency on detainee issues by allowing a virtual meeting service, visitor requests and monetary assistance for inmates. It also allows trials to be monitored as they progress through the justice system.

Death penalty

While no official statistics are released, reports indicate there were 74 executions in 2013, a similar number to 2012 and 2011. Those executed were mainly convicted of murder, armed robbery and drug-related offences. While executions may be carried out in public, increasingly they are carried out at prisons around the country. The principle of the death penalty is enshrined in Saudi Sharia Law; we therefore assess that abolition of the death penalty is not a realistic possibility in Saudi Arabia in the near future. We currently focus our efforts on encouraging Saudi Arabia to apply the EU minimum standards for capital punishment.

The Saudi Arabian government encourages victims' families to show clemency by waiving their right to have the killer of a relative executed, but the final decision rests with the family. In July 2013, Prince Turki bin Abdullah, the Deputy Governor of Riyadh, made a public statement encouraging victims' families to accept blood money instead of execution. King Abdullah also annually meets with families that have granted clemency, and thanks them for their mercy.

We lobbied the Saudi Arabian government bilaterally and through the EU for clemency on behalf of Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan maid convicted of murdering a four-month-old baby under her care in 2005, allegedly at the age of 17. Miss Nafeek was later executed on 9 January 2013.

In mid-March, the death penalty again aroused concern internationally with the execution of seven Saudi men sentenced for planning a campaign of armed robberies. At least one of the men was alleged to be a juvenile at the time, and an unverified allegation was made by one of the detainees that his confession was extracted under torture.

Then Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Alistair Burt, released statements on both occasions expressing concern about the executions, and reiterating the UK Government's position on the death penalty.

Torture

Allegations of torture continue to be made, but are difficult to investigate and impossible to verify. The Saudi justice system has a number of checks in place to prevent the use of torture, including inspections of prisons by the National Society of Human Rights and the Human Rights Commission. However, we continue to press Saudi Arabia to increase transparency on this issue, and encourage their ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.

Freedom of religion or belief

Freedom of religion or belief is severely restricted in Saudi Arabia. Non-Muslims are not permitted to worship openly or establish places of worship in Saudi Arabia; the authorities take the view that this is contrary to Sharia law in the Land of the Two Holy Mosques, based on a strict interpretation of a specific Hadith (a saying attributed to the Prophet) that "there can be no two religions in the Arabian Peninsula". We continued to support dialogue and opportunities for reform. We raised our concerns with the government of Saudi Arabia in 2013, including in their UPR, and Baroness Warsi discussed freedom of religion or belief with the Saudi Arabian Ambassador in March 2013. There is no immediate prospect of change on this issue.

Women's rights

The rights of women in Saudi Arabia are principally affected by the guardianship system, under which women's freedom to participate in society is greatly restricted; women need the consent of a male relative to travel, work and study. However, there were some improvements in women's rights in Saudi Arabia in 2013, although often starting from a very low base.

Women were appointed to the Majlis Ash-Shura (Shura Council), one of the king's advisory bodies, for the first time in February 2013. With thirty female Shura members now constituting 20% of the council, this is a significant and symbolic reform highlighting the progress Saudi Arabia is making on women's rights. The Foreign Secretary was the first foreign government minister to meet some of the female Shura Council members when they visited the UK in February.

The Council of Ministers approved legislation outlawing domestic abuse in August. The law introduces new measures for the protection of victims and the prosecution of those accused of domestic violence. The King Fahd Foundation also launched Saudi Arabia's first public awareness campaign against domestic violence in May 2013.

There were a number of other minor reforms for women's rights in 2013. These included allowing Saudi women to sponsor their non-Saudi husbands and sons to access work, education and medical treatment, instead of relying on a male relative or employer. A senior official at the Ministry of Labour announced plans to allow more women into employment in the coming three years (by amending the definintion of suitable jobs), while in March the Minister of Labour encouraged women in the workplace to challenge their employers to ensure they were receiving the same pay as their male counterparts. In October, four female lawyers became the first Saudi women to be granted licences to practise in court. After Saudi female athletes competed at the Olympics for the first time at London 2012, in 2013 laws were passed allowing girls to take part in sports at private schools; and women to attend football matches.

Children's rights

In Saudi Arabia, the age of legal responsibility is deemed as the onset of puberty. This has implications for the trials of children as adults, including for crimes which carry the death penalty. While in May 2011 the Shura Council passed a non-binding resolution calling to set a minimum age for girls to marry at 17, no legislation has yet been enacted.

Saudi Arabia acceded to the International Labour Organisation Convention No.138 on the minimum age for admission to employment and work in May 2013.

Other issues

Migrant workers

In 2013, the Saudi authorities instigated a massive campaign to regularise the status of the many migrants who were in the Kingdom illegally or working outside of their sponsorship rules. The sponsorship system governs work contracts, salary, visas, holidays, and repatriation for foreign workers, and it is common for passports to be confiscated by employers, restricting movement. A large proportion of Saudi Arabia's eight million migrant workers are non-Muslims, and their right to practise their religion is also severely constrained.

In April 2013, the government announced an amnesty period to allow workers to regularise their papers, or to leave the country without penalty. Press reports indicate that around five million foreign workers either corrected their labour status or left the Kingdom during this period. This amnesty expired on 4 November. Since then, the Saudi authorities have instigated a campaign to identify and deport irregular migrant workers, and have now deported over 250,000 foreign nationals to their country of origin. Some concerns have been raised about the treatment of these workers, and about Saudi Arabia's cooperation with the receiving countries. Reports indicate that five people, both Saudi and foreign, have been killed in localised riots as the police have sought to inspect and clear sites. We have encouraged the government of Saudi Arabia to work with countries and specialist agencies, such as the International Organisation of Migration, to manage the return and resettlement process of migrants smoothly.

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