Section II:
Progress Achieved and the Efforts and Activities Implemented
in the Field of Protecting Human Rights
1. The Provisions of Law Number (26) of 2014 establishing the National Institution for Human Rights
amended by Decree-Law Number (20) of 2016, emphasizes the role of the National Institution in
the field of protecting human rights, through receiving complaints related to human rights, and
undertaking field visits to monitor human rights conditions at detention centres.
2. Whereas Article Number (12) of the same Law in Paragraph (e) thereof provides that the National
Institution has jurisdiction “to monitor violation of human rights, conduct the necessary
investigation, draw the attention of the competent authorities and provide them with proposals
on initiatives to put an end to such violations and, where necessary, to express an opinion on the
reactions and positions of the competent authorities.”, and Paragraph (f) thereof provides that its
power is to: “To receive, examine and research complaints related to human rights and refer them, if
necessary, to the relevant authorities with effective follow-up, or enlightening those concerned with
must-follow procedures and help them to implement them, or assist in the settlement with relevant
authorities.”.
3. As to field visits as one of the means of monitoring granted to the National Institution, Paragraph (g)
of Article Number (12) thereof stipulates its jurisdiction: “To perform announced and unannounced
field visits, to monitor human rights situation in Correction institutions, detention centres, labour
calls gathering, health and education centres, or any other public place in which it is suspected that
human rights violations are taking place.” These are jurisdictions that are in general related to the
role of the National Institution in the field of protecting human rights.
4. This stipulation represents an emphasis on the necessity of expanding the jurisdictions in the field
of protecting human rights in a manner consistent with international resolutions in this regard, and
the required protection should not be confined to receiving complaints, but extends to the process
of following up and monitoring a human rights case or situation while documenting it by various
means, such given that the monitoring process is necessary for ascertaining the extent that the state
respects its legal or international obligations related to human rights.
5. To put into effect the jurisdictions included in the provisions of the Law, the National Institution
played an energetic role in the field of protecting human rights, where it interacted with some events
which cast their shadow on human rights and issued several statements on separate occasions,
and expressed its deep regrets in one of those statements for the death of a member of Police as a
result of fired shots which led to his death, in addition to its follow up with extreme concern the
events related to the kidnappings and the assault on youth and boys from among citizens in some
of the areas of the Kingdom, which led to their suffering various injuries- some of which were
characterized as serious- as a result of an exchange of fire and stones between two groups of veiled
men, while expressing its condolences and consolation to the relatives of the deceased and the
injured.
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