On Wednesday 03/03/1441 AH corresponding to 27/11/2019, the General Director  of Bilateral Relations at the Belgian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ms. Anik van Kettlester, Ms. Marien Lugten, responsible for the Middle East and North Africa Department at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ms. Evi Ruyumbek, Deputy Director of Human Rights at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accompanied by the Ambassador of the State of Belgium to the Kingdom, Mrs. Dominique Minor and the Consul Mrs. Alyssa de Relais, has visited the National Society for Human Rights. They have met, during the visit, the Chairman of the Society, Dr. Mufleh Rabiean Al-Qahtani, who has given them a brief on the activities of the Society and its various fields of work. They have discussed also the development witnessed by the Kingdom in the field of women’s rights and the measures taken to empower them in various fields.

Moreover, they have shed light on the Kingdom’s support for the child’s rights and the efforts made in this regard. To illustrate, the Chairman of the Society has asserted that the Kingdom has made a lot of efforts to protect the rights of the child, including the issuance of a child protection system and a system to protect from abuse, which contributed to finding solutions to some problems that were facing children in the past, including the lack of regular education, treatment or denial of identification.

Regarding the death penalty, the Chairman of the Society has stated that the death penalty in the Kingdom is based on the provisions of Islamic Sharia. He has also clarified that the state seeks with the parents of blood in such cases to provide amnesty for the implementation of the punishment, and has added that the application of this punishment is only in the major crimes as permitted by some International agreements.

Besides, they have shed light on some other human rights issues, such as the rights of male and female prisoners, and the remarkable development witnessed by the mabahith (General Investigation Directorate) prisons in the Kingdom, including the presence of hospitals in each prison, as well as the presence of offices of the National Society for Human Rights.

On the Iranian level, the Chairman of the Society has stressed on the need for the countries of the European Union, including Belgium, to have a strong and unified position towards the Iranian government to reduce its practices to spread chaos in the region, which affects the protection and promotion of human rights in the countries of the region.

Finally, the visiting delegation has praised the efforts made by the Society and the activities it works to achieve. They have stressed also on the importance of listening to the mutual views in the field of human rights.

The meeting was attended by, His Excellency Member of the Society, Counselor. Khaled Al-Fakhri, and Secretary of the Chairman of the Society, Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Al Mahmoud.