The government of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has paid great attention to the issue of human rights and to the protection of these rights at the local and international levels while taking into consideration the special characteristics of the society and respecting the teachings of religion. The Kingdom's efforts and contributions in protecting human rights have been widely praised by the concerned international organizations and institutions, which led to the Kingdom becoming a member of the first UN Human Rights Council in 2006. The report of the Human Rights Commission in the Kingdom, which was given to Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of World Human Rights Day, reviewed some of the accomplishments and efforts of the government in the field of human rights. The report said the Kingdom's efforts in protecting human rights emanated at the local and international levels from its commitment to implement the Islamic Shariah that calls for protecting the life and dignity of man at all stages of life. To achieve this, several measures have been taken including those stated in Article 26 of the Basic System of Governance that confirms the Kingdom's protection of human rights. Apart from this, the Kingdom has signed four major human rights agreements: the international agreement for combating all forms of racial discrimination in 1997, the agreement for combating all forms of discrimination against women in 2000, the agreement for opposing all forms of torture and other forms of harsh, inhuman or humiliating treatment in 1997 and the international agreement for children's rights. The report said that at the regional level the Kingdom joined the “Cairo Declaration for Human Rights in Islam” issued by a conference for foreign ministers of Muslim countries in 1990. It also joined the Amended Arab Charter for Human Rights that was adopted at the Arab summit conference in Tunis in 2004. With a view to enhancing the mechanisms for human rights protection in the Kingdom, approval was issued for establishing the first government commission for the advancement of human rights in 2005. Earlier, approval was issued for the establishment of the Kingdom's National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), which has 41 members, 10 of them women. The report said that the establishment of NSHR and the Human Rights Commission (HRC) contributed to spreading the culture of human rights in all the regions of the Kingdom and activated a mechanism for monitoring and following up any violation of these rights. In addition, the HRC and NSHR receive complaints in respect of the conditions in prisons and express opinions on many draft laws and regulations. As a result, international and regional human rights commissions lauded other accomplishments achieved by the Kingdom in the field of protecting human rights. These include holding municipal council elections in 2005, establishing the Saudi Journalists' Association in 2003 and the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue in 2003, and King Abdullah's call for interfaith dialogue and peaceful coexistence among peoples. The report added that King Abdullah was granted the Lech Walesa Prize in recognition of his charitable and humanitarian achievements, his effective contribution to promoting dialogue among followers of different religions and cultures, and his initiation of a series of intellectual dialogues on several issues of importance to Saudi society. The directives of the Kingdom to deport foreign prisoners to their countries in accordance with a series of guarantees and measures received great praise from international organizations and commissions. __
