Saudi rights group chief calls for change in sponsorship system

Riyadh Dr Mufleh Rubai'aan Al Qah'tani, head of the National Society for Human Rights (NSRH), has called for the replacement of the sponsorship system in Saudi Arabia, which ‘has several shortcomings'. He, however, failed to elaborate.

Dr Al Qah'tani said that any new system should promote a healthy relationship between employers and employees, adding that due to the present sponsorship system, skilled workers were reluctant to come to the kingdom.

"These negatives aspects have tarnished the country's image to a large extent, especially with regard to status of employees, according to reports of the International Labor Organisation," he said.

Additionally, he urged the Saudi Shura (advisory) Council to draft a law criminalising child and women abuse, adding that the NSRH had recorded a large number of domestic violence cases, some leading to deaths and disability.

Responding to the perception of many Saudis that the NSRH had adopted strange Western concepts in Saudi Arabia, Dr Al Qah'tani said that the concepts of human rights exist in the Quran and Sunnah, and that 90 per cent of the foreign culture on human rights was identical to the concepts of Islamic sharia.

While referring to children born to Saudi fathers after temporary marriages abroad during vacations, he called on relevant authorities to work for their return, adding that many of these children were living in nurseries set up by Saudi embassies in Egypt and Syria.

The temporary marriage phenomenon has remarkably increased in Yemen, Morocco, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon according to local press reports.

He stressed the need to punish Saudis indulging in such activities.