Saudi Arabia criticized at the United Nations

Saudi Arabia has been strongly criticized, Friday, at the UN for its discrimination against women, its practice of the death penalty and corporal punishment and violations of the rights of migrant workers.

•     Before the Council of Human Rights, several countries, mostly Western, called Saudi Arabia to take action to end the violations identified by the defenders of human rights in the country.
  
      These criticisms were expressed in the “interactive dialogue” which constitutes the highlight of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which was under Saudi Arabia.
  
      Essential mechanism of the Council, the UPR is to review the situation of human rights in all UN member countries once every four years.
  
      The EPU provides that after the presentation of its report by the State concerned, members of the Board-the number - constituted of 47 - and observer countries have two minutes each to speak.
  
      Like the United Kingdom, Canada or Norway, several countries have asked Saudi Arabia to abolish the system of guardianship of women who keeps them in a situation of dependence in many aspects of privacy and professional and restricts their freedom of movement and work.
  
      Some were moved by the number of executions in the country and involving young people under 18, countries like Switzerland or Italy calling a "moratorium" of the death penalty "for its abolition."
  
      Switzerland asked the "abolition" of floggings and amputations, and several countries have denounced the "corporal punishment".
  
      Another sensitive issue raised the fate of the approximately seven million migrant workers, many of whom are victims of extreme forms of abuse and exploitation at work, which sometimes come close to slavery according to Human Right Watch.
  
      Sweden and Bangladesh have expressed their “concern” in regard to migrant women, particularly domestic workers, asking Saudi Arabia to take action to improve their situation.
  
      These critics have managed to speak despite the flood of position very conciliatory by countries reluctant to criticism.
  
      Of the sixty allowed to speak on "interactive debate" over forty praised roughly balance the country encouraging them to "continue" its efforts, creating scenes cynical comments of some diplomats.
  
      "Such praise by some States to Saudi Arabia are so coarse that they discredit their authors", told AFP in a Western diplomat.
  
      "The goal of UPE is not that the problems can be raised only by the Western States," he continued.
  
      In its report, Saudi Arabia has defended its "religious and cultural particularism", presenting itself as a "tribal society (which) rapidly transformed and has limited experience in the field of human rights in their modern form, said Zaid al-Hussein, Vice-President of the Commission on Human Rights in Saudi Arabia.
  
      For him, the few admitted violations are attributable to individual cases and poor practice of Islam, giving according to Islamic law, sharia, highlighted the concept of human rights.
  
      
  Ennaharonline/ Afp