The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has criticized the Shoura Council, the Ministry of Education, the judiciary, the Commission for Investigation and Prosecution, Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the Journalists' Commission and other bodies, and warned of the poor state of the health service and rising levels of corruption. The criticisms came in the second NSHR annual report, which outlines the failures of a number of bodies in their missions, and gives a lengthy list of recommendations to remedy them. In matters of health, the NSHR report notes a disparity in health services in different regions and highlights the difficulties faced by people seeking medical treatment, the lack of medical supplies in hospital pharmacies, poor nursing staff and medical facilities, lengthy time gaps between appointments, inefficient emergency rooms and a lack of sufficient care for mental health patients, despite, according to the report, large funds being made available to the health ministry. The report, which this year contains some 100 pages, also criticizes the Ministry of Education, saying it should make improvements to teacher salaries and conditions, focus on the maintenance of schools and the limiting of intake of non-Saudi pupils, and address class overcrowding and traffic accidents involving female teachers. It further notes the lack of teachers for some subjects and a lack of attention to human aspects in teacher transfers and transportation. The Shoura Council is described in the report as failing to make positive improvements and suffering from a lack of authority, saying it needs to strengthen its monitoring role over executive authority bodies, review the structure of the council, take on members by election rather than appointment, and extend its powers to include monitoring, particularly over the budget and the questioning of ministers. The NSHR also criticizes the judicial system in its report, calling for women to be given their rights in legal proceedings, and notes discrimination between defendants. It notes the lack of public legal proceedings and the recourse to secrecy in hearings in some cases, and the discrimination in the admissibility of witnesses, on top of the lengthy periods taken to deal with cases. The report also criticizes judges' punctuality, their failure to inform defendants of their rights, and their failure to employ modern methods of proof. The Commission for Investigation and Prosecution is described as having a staff shortage and offering few incentives, and the report recommends the body be made independent and linked to the King. The report calls for amendments to the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice – the Hai'a – saying the current system gives the body powers that are too extensive. It recommends a strict limiting of Hai'a members' authority. The Hai'a, the report says, should be stopped from engaging in car pursuits, searching private property with no justification, detaining women without a “mahram” (legal guardian), forcing people to sign reports without having read them, and using private vehicles to transport people they have held. The report also calls for the Ministry of Interior to put an end to cases of people without identity papers, and criticized prison overcrowding. The NSHR, the report says, has observed a prison guard repeatedly beating two inmates using a piece of plastic, and noted deaths of prison inmates from tuberculosis that could have been avoided with proper treatment in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Bisha and Jizan. The Journalists' Commission is criticized for its lack of action in promoting journalistic freedom and generally failing to fulfill its mission. The report lists a number of restrictions on journalistic freedoms: the banning of newspapers, banning of books from being written, and the detention of a broadcaster. The report reiterates the importance of transparency and the media's right to work without unwanted interference, noting a variation in levels of transparency between newspapers which the report described as suggesting that editors-in-chief have a large influence on setting the limits of journalistic freedom. An increase in corruption is due, the report states, to the considerable increase in income resulting from a rise in oil prices and vast increases in government project spending, coupled with a lack of monitoring and accountability. This is exacerbated by a fall in living standards, according to the report, and many government employees' inability to cover their families' expenses, which may serve to explain increased corruption commonly occurring in the form of bribery which has served to stall some government projects, coupled with contractors failing to fulfill their commitments. The report calls for people to be held accountable and questioning them on their actions.
