Human rights in the Middle East

International Obligations

In 1948 Egypt, Iran and Pakistan signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Saudi Arabia did not arguing that it "failed to take into consideration the cultural and religious context of non-Western countries."

The Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam was adopted by 45 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in August 1990. This declaration undermines many of the rights the UDHR guarantees allowing all the member states to abide by a set of human rights based on Shari'a law. For example, Article 18 of the UDHR establishes that everyone has the "right to freedom of religion, freedom to change his religion and freedom to manifest his religion in teaching, practice, worship and observance". Article 10 of the CDHRI establishes that "It is prohibited to exercise any form of compulsion on man or to exploit his poverty or ignorance in order to convert him to another religion or to atheism."

The Arab Human Rights Committee, was established in 2009 to oversee compliance with the Arab Charter on Human Rights, which entered into force in March 2008. As of the beginning of October 2009, ten Arab states ratified the Arab Charter on Human Rights. These are: Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Libya, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. As of February 2015, another four States ratified the Arab Charter. These were: Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Sudan, and Yemen. The Charter creates a process through which the Committee receives and reviews state reports and makes recommendations as appropriate. The Charter does not provide for a complaints mechanism.

The Committee has had three sessions during which it has been focusing on "procedural aspects of organising its work".

Capital punishment

In regards to capital punishment the countries of the region can be separated into two categories:

1. Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Israel and Mauritania are considered 'abolitionist in practice'. Aside from Israel, all of the above countries maintain the death penalty for serious crimes such as drug-related offences and murder, however no executions have been carried out in a long time. The last Israeli execution was carried out in 1962 as they have retained capital punishment not for ordinary crimes but purely exceptional circumstances.
2. All other countries in the Middle East execute prisoners for crimes including ‘ordinary crimes’. In the de facto autonomous Rojava federation in Syria, formed during the Syrian Civil War, capital punishment has been abolished.

The death penalty has proven difficult to eradicate in the Middle East due largely to many countries’ legal systems being based around religion, which is more “resistant to change than systems based solely on legislation”. In most countries in the Middle Eastern region, the legal system is largely based primarily on Shari'a. Uniquely, Israel's legal system has different sources. In criminal law determined by Shari'a, most crimes classified as Hudud are punishable by death and are considered dangerous for Islamic society. Their punishments are fixed in the Qu´ran and the Hadith. They include adultery, apostasy, armed robbery and rebellion. In 2012, Iran cemented its lead position in the region with two executions per day and Iran continues to execute juvenile prisoners despite its international obligations. According to studies undertaken by Amnesty International in 2015, at least 1,196 executions were carried out in eight Middle Eastern countries – “a rise of 26% from the 945 executions recorded in eight countries in 2014”. “Iran alone accounted for 82% of all recorded executions in the region and Saudi Arabia executed at least 158 people – a 76% increase on 2014 and the highest number recorded for Saudi Arabia since 1995”.

Capital punishment represents the most dramatic clash between a ‘UN-sponsored’ human rights concept and Shari'a law. Shari'a establishes the death penalty as mandatory punishment for a number of Hudud crimes. “Moreover, some execution methods envisaged in the holy texts, such as flogging, stoning and amputation, violate international conventions that prohibit torture and cruel and inhuman treatments.” The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), aimed at abolishing the death penalty, was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989. Article 1 of the Protocol states that all the Protocol's Parties shall refrain from carrying out executions and shall take all necessary measures to abolish the death penalty within their jurisdiction. None of the countries in the Middle Eastern region have ratified this protocol, although most have signed and ratified the ICCPR.

Freedom of religion

In Egypt, the Constitutional Declaration of March 2011 and the new constitution ratified on December 22, 2011 provide for some freedom of religion, but certain constitutional provisions, laws, and government policies and practices limit that freedom.

In Saudi Arabia, freedom of religion is not recognised nor protected under the law. Sunni Islam is the official religion according to the 1992 Basic Law and the Qur'an and the Sunna are Saudi Arabia’s constitution.

Kuwait’s Constitution allows for religious freedom however this is not often put into practice. The government generally enforces the restrictions on freedom of religion established by other laws and policies. Sharia (Islamic law) is the core source of legislation and Islam is the state religion.

Both Iraq and Lebanon's governments generally respect religious freedom. It is protected in the constitution and various other laws. In Lebanon “The constitution declares equality of rights and duties for all citizens without discrimination or preference but establishes a balance of power among the major religious groups.” In Iraq Islam is considered the official religion. The constitution instructs that Islam be considered the main source of legislation, and declares that no law may be enacted that contradicts the “established provisions of Islam.”

The Constitution of Rojava, the de facto autonomous Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava in Syria formed during the Syrian Civil War, guarantees freedom of religion.

Employment

Women throughout the Middle East earn less than men although there are labour laws in place that dictate equal opportunities for promotion and training and equal pay for the same type of work. These labour laws are frequently violated in regards to not only salary but also benefits such as loans for senior officials or housing allowances. Women in most countries throughout the Middle East can file complaints of discrimination with government agencies but these are often ineffective due to their inability to effectively investigate discrimination cases or impose penalties for employers who violate the labour laws.

In many countries in the region, labour laws prohibit women from undertaking arduous or dangerous work, or work which could be deemed “detrimental to their health or morals”. Women are prohibited from working at night, with the exception of those employed in medicine and a few other fields. Although these provisions are seen locally as a means of protecting women, in effect they “treat women as minors who are unable to make decisions regarding their own safety and hold women’s guardians responsible if the rules are violated.”.

Education

Education has been an important area of advancement for women in the region, and is a significant path for their advancement toward wider equality. Since the 1990s, women in the region have made advances in access to literacy, education, university enrolment, and the range of subjects of study available to them. In Saudi Arabia, for example, three educational institutions started to permit women to study law in 2007. However, they remain prohibited from serving as lawyers and judges in court and are only allowed to act as legal consultants to other women. Despite these improvements, there are still many barriers to gender equality in education. In majority countries studied, universities largely remain segregated by gender. In Saudi Arabia, for example, the number and diversity of classes offered to men are much greater than those available to women.

Domestic Abuse

No country in the region (with the sole exception of the de facto autonomous Rojava federation in Syria) offers specific protections against spousal rape or domestic violence however physical abuse is generally prohibited. There is a lack of official protection of rights within the home and a lack of government accountability in these regions. It is believed that most domestic violence is typically covered up and kept within the family as many women in the region feel they cannot discuss their abuse without damaging their own and their family’s reputation and honour. Abused women rarely attempt to file complaints with police and when they do they frequently encounter officers who are “reluctant to get involved in what is perceived as a family matter and who encourage reconciliation rather than legal action. In Saudi Arabia in particular, guardianship laws make it very difficult for battered wives to find a safe haven.”.

Children's rights

All the states in the Middle East region have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Following the ratification of the CRC, Middle Eastern countries have enacted or proposed to enact laws to protect children from violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation. A number of countries have put in place comprehensive Child Laws that bring together legal provisions for the protection of the child.

Egypt, pre 2011 revolution, had been making progress in education, access to vaccines and sanitized water for children. Child labour, violence against girls, gender gaps within education and socioeconomic conditions had continued to be identified as areas of concern. Today, child arrests, detention and imprisonment continue to be a protection risk for children in Egypt. In the second half of 2013, UNICEF estimated that 400 children wound up arrested in connection with political turmoil. Founded in 2000, the Egyptian Foundation for Advancement of Childhood Conditions (EFACC), advocates against children’s abuse and exploitation, advances protections for those in conflict with the law and promotes children’s welfare. EFACC also provides free legal aid to children in trouble. Both external and internal conflict, ongoing political instability and the Syrian refugee crisis remain grave dangers for children in Iraq. The escalating armed conflict with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has placed more children in peril. Multiple aspects of children’s lives are at high risk especially child labour, education, shelter, sexual violence and child recruitment. . Founded in 2005, South Youth Organization (SYO) raises awareness of human rights and works to achieve greater protections for them. SYO exposes and documents grave violations against children, focusing specifically on discrimination issues, sectarian violence and abuse of women and girls. .

By country

See the following for more details on each country: