MUN position paper

Despite The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1956 UN Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, contemporary slavery intrudes into many aspects of people’s lives, debasing all it touches regardless of the fact that it was banned in most countries around the world. Slavery has never been an issue in the Arab world, for by their nature and ethics, The arab community particularly Saudi Arabia rejects slavery and similar practices.

When examining the history of the region:The Islamic prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, encouraged manumission of slaves, even if one had to purchase them first. On many occasions, Muhammad's companions, at his direction, freed slaves in abundance. Muhammad personally freed 63 slaves, and his wife Aisha freed 67. Thus, we fully stand against modern slavery in all of its forms. Officially, King Faisal in the 1960s abolished slavery and dammed it against the country’s Islamic doctrine. Saudi Arabia strongly considers the right of any human to not be subject to any form of dehumanization. Though it believes that there should be some aspect of social construct, no one should be forced to work, migrate or be exploited to benefit third parties.

While we accept that there are some citizens who mistreat domestic workers,which is intolerable, there are laws that stipulate punishment and our government will not hesitate to reveal such practices and violations. In August 2013, the Saudi cabinet approved a law making domestic violence a criminal offence. The law calls for a punishment of up to a year in prison and a fine of up to 50,000 riyals (US$13,000). The kingdom’s laws criminalize psychological and sexual abuse, as well as physical abuse.

Furthermore, Saudi Arabia supports the reduction of child labor. According to Article 161 of the Saudi Labor Law, it is not permissible to let children work in harmful industries that could affect their health and safety.

This UN committee along with our governmental officials, are committed to ensure that Saudi (keeps contributing to the implementation of human rights in all nations, and set the model for other countries to follow)

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