JEDDAH: More than 29 government and private agencies participated Tuesday in the third workshop for preparing a long-term strategy for the Human Rights Commission. Okaz/Saudi Gazette has learnt that the HRC is preparing to hold another workshop for an elite group including lawyers, journalists, intellectuals and others. During his inauguration of the workshop in Riyadh, Dr. Bandar Bin Muhammad Al-Aiban, chairman of the HRC, said its objective was to exchange views, ideas and proposals to upgrade human rights and disseminate and instill a culture of human rights in the Kingdom. He stressed that the government attaches great importance to the subject. “This concern is manifested in approval of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, approval of the strategy for spreading a human rights culture to develop awareness of human rights among individuals and the society and to acquaint them with the regulations, directives and procedures followed in the Kingdom that protect human rights,” he said. The attendance by members of different agencies reflected a commitment by those agencies to be partners with the Human Rights Commission, which “cannot carry out its responsibilities without the exchange of views and expertise with them,” Al-Aiban said. While it is important that agencies are involved in efforts to enhance human rights, everyone has a role in doing so, Al-Aiban said. “Human rights and defending and protecting them is the responsibility of every citizen and expatriate, within the sphere and limits of their duties,” he said. Al-Aiban said the Human Rights Commission is working to establish and execute plans to further its work. “The commission looks forward to setting a scientific strategy for developing its performance in all sectors, activities and mechanisms, provided this is based on the visions and directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, who stressed that the strategy should meet the needs of the society,” he said. – Okaz/Saudi Gazette “The monarch also emphasized that the priorities for the Human Rights Commission should be set according to a long-term strategic plan that will achieve the country's goals.” Al-Aiban said the King Abdullah Institute for Research and Consultative Studies at King Saud University has been chosen to prepare the strategy and set an executive plan according to criteria and controls set by the Human Rights Commission. Dr. Ma'di Aal Madh'hab, head of the working team at the Institute for developing the plan, said its members are working hard to study the HRC's current situation. He said the workshop was part of a number of activities, comparative studies and research carried out by the working team. “This plan will come out with a comprehensive and clear strategy that can be implemented,” he said. “It includes the vision, message and practical goals for the Human Rights Commission in addition to preparing programs, initiatives and activities with a set schedule, according to measurable performance indexes, as well as establishing an administrative structure that specifies the Human Rights Commission's functions and powers.”
