The spotlight on human rights is expanding both domestically and internationally. The United Nations defines human rights as rights inherent to all human beings. Of course, universalities exist. But, each region and country also takes into consideration its own values and cultural norms when preserving human rights in practice. There is no doubt that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's story is one of transformation. Since the adoption of Vision 2030, this transformation has gone through various phases and has culminated into unprecedented reforms that have taken place in a few short years. We have achieved more in the area of human rights in four years than many others have in a quarter century. Under King Salman Bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, the Kingdom has witnessed reforms across a multitude of spheres progressing in ways that seemed unimaginable before. More than 60 reforms have been made to improve the situation of human rights in the Kingdom, of which 22 were related to women's rights. We have adopted new regulation in personal status for women with reformed custody and anti-harassment laws. Additionally, female work force participation is no longer a target but a priority that we are steadily achieving. We have taken it one step further by ensuring salary parity in our legislation, which many women around the world are still fighting to achieve. Civil and labor laws have also witnessed revamping to support foreign workers' rights. Of course, like other countries, we have our challenges but, more than any other time, we have the opportunity to overcome them. While being party to numerous international human rights instruments and believing in the universality of human rights, we, like other nations, take into consideration our own values, history, and culture. In fact, international standards of human rights recognize national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds as stipulated in the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action 1993. Practical implementation of human rights differs from one state to another. For example, in some parts of the world, individual and personal rights are paramount, whereas in others, more significance is placed on the rights of the community and the preservation of social cohesion. Since Saudi culture is deeply rooted in social cohesion and is consensus-based, change may have to unfold at a pace comfortable for Saudi society. We also take pride in our values and traditions that carry us into the future with our culture intact. We have come a long way and will continue to do more. What remains certain though is our commitment to enhancing the quality of life and guaranteeing the protection of all human rights. The reality is Saudi society encompasses a spectrum of views, some conservative, while others not as much. Each end of the spectrum matters because, ultimately, we are living in our community together. And, we are a consensus-based society. The promotion and protection of human rights is a valued principle in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is regarded as a priority by the leadership of the Kingdom. At the Human Rights Commission, we will ensure that no effort is spared to protect and promote human rights, and continue to uphold human dignity. — Human Rights Commission (HRC) President Awwad Al
