Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) addressed the distressing case of the foreign wife of a Saudi citizen who declared her as a runaway domestic servant. The HRC’s intervention helped the woman take custody of her child and correct her legal status as an expatriate woman residing legally in the Kingdom.

The Saudi man had brought the foreign woman to the Kingdom as a domestic worker and later married her. The couple has a son. Later, the man took advantage of the ignorance of the woman and her family about the Kingdom’s regulations. The woman was allegedly subjected to continuous physical harassment and abuse at the hand of her husband. He also refused to correct her status and later moved to another place, taking with him the child after reporting the woman as a runaway maid.

Consequently, the woman lodged a complaint with the HRC, which in turn coordinated with the security forces and other concerned authorities and that resulted in tracking the child and handing him over to his mother. The woman’s status was also corrected as a legal resident in the Kingdom.

Bandar Al-Hajri, deputy president of the HRC, said that the commission’s specialized teams are continuing to deal with a number of cases that involve violations of individual rights. He stressed that there is an urgent need to expand the channels for receiving and facilitating individual complaints, and to develop the methods for monitoring, intervention, and redressing so as to ensure optimal handling of the violations and their quick and effective handling. He also noted the tremendous response and utmost keenness that HRC receives from the emirates of the regions.

Al-Hajri said that the HRC deals with a number of files related to marriage and residency problems and the related procedures and that it supports the process of periodic review of the legislative, organizational and institutional structure related to such issues, through its partnership with government agencies as well as with non-profit agencies.