The Human Rights Commission (HRC) has called for the establishment of a family police force to deal with cases of family violence and said laws must be made to prevent underage marriages.
In its third annual report carried by local Arabic daily Al-Madinah yesterday, the commission called for expediting the drafting of the law aimed at protecting families against violence. The draft law is currently under discussion in the Shoura Council.
“The protection department at the Ministry of Social Affairs has to be made into an independent entity with all the required resources including a special police unit to deal with cases of family violence,” it recommended.
The commission called for the establishment of a supreme council to supervise the implementation of government projects and said special attention should be given to the poor districts in towns and villages, include their residents in the social security system and give priority to their children in admission to universities and colleges.
In the report titled: “The Human Rights Condition in the Kingdom: Ambitious Leadership and Weak Government Performance,” the commission recommended that the supreme council supervising execution of government projects should consist of representatives of the existing control and monitoring bodies and the beneficiaries of the projects.
“The council should be given full authority to deal with the problems of delays in the execution of projects, substandard implementation and exaggerated costs,” it suggested.
The commission called for reinforcing the supervisory powers of the Shoura Council on the government departments without exception, giving it the right to question government officials, involve its members in the discussions of the general budget and rotating the top government positions enabling qualified Saudis to be placed in key decision-making positions.
The commission called for finalizing the cases of people being detained for security reasons and said those of them who were not charged and prisoners, who have completed their jail terms, should be immediately released. “The accused should not be kept under detention and should be sent to courts for fair trials without delay,” it said.
The commission asked the police and the courts not to accept divorce cases based on “tribal inequality” especially if these cases are filed by people other than the married couple.
The HRC criticized the lack of foster homes and orphanages. The commission also said that many of the existing ones were old buildings, lack adequate resources and have no entertainment or educational programs.
The commission also called for improving the school environment including buildings and curriculum.
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