GENEVA: Saudi Arabia said it will continue its efforts to enhance and protect human rights emanating from the principles of Islamic Shariah.
Addressing the 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the Saudi envoy at the UN in Geneva, Abdul Aziz bin Mohammed Al-Wasil, said a call for the globalization of human rights does not mean imposition of principles and values contradicting Islamic values.
Al-Wasil expressed the Kingdom’s desire to continue and enhance cooperation with the UN Human Rights Commission (HRC), adding that the memo of understanding signed with the HRC is an important step in this direction. He said the programs, which were implemented with the HRC, aim to build national capacities for the enhancement and protection of human rights.
He said the latest aid provided by the Kingdom to Yemen came through the allocation of $66 million to fight cholera in Yemen, in addition to other humanitarian and material assistance. He expressed deep regret over the emergence of cholera and the urgent need for food and medicine in some parts of the country.
The Saudi envoy said areas controlled by the Houthis are those where cholera is spreading, and the need for humanitarian assistance is pressingly arising as the Houthi militia have seized humanitarian aid for resale to fund their war work.
He called on international organizations operating in Yemen to put pressure on the coup militias to facilitate and deliver humanitarian assistance to the intended beneficiaries.
Al-Wasil said Bahrain has suffered, and still suffering, from foreign interference trying to destabilize domestic security and divide national unity. Bahrain is exerting concrete and genuine efforts to protect human rights in the framework of its sovereign right to defend its security and stability against any external interference or terror acts, he said.
On Palestine, he said that for more than six decades, the Palestinian people have been constantly subjected to gross human rights violations.
In this context, he renewed the call on the international community to live up to its responsibility and take the necessary arrangements to end the sufferings of the Palestinian people.
He also reaffirmed the right of the Palestine people to self-determination and establishment of their independent state with Al-Quds as its capital.
Saudi Arabia has eased Yemenis’ sufferings, says Saudi ambassador
Saudi Arabia has eased Yemenis’ sufferings, says Saudi ambassador
Riyadh emerges as Gulf evacuation hub for wealthy amid regional escalation
- Saudi capital’s King Khalid International Airport is among the few major airports in the region still operating normally after Iranian missile and drone strikes
RIYADH: Riyadh has become a principal evacuation hub for wealthy residents and senior executives seeking to leave the Gulf amid escalating regional tensions, according to a report by Semafor.
The Saudi capital’s King Khalid International Airport is among the few major airports in the region still operating normally after Iranian missile and drone strikes targeted cities including Dubai and Abu Dhabi over the weekend, as well as locations in Qatar and Bahrain.
With airspace closures elsewhere, stranded executives and high-net-worth individuals have been travelling overland to Riyadh, in some cases undertaking a roughly 10-hour journey from Dubai, in order to board private or commercial flights out of the region.
Citing people familiar with the arrangements, Semafor reported that private security firms have been hiring fleets of SUVs to transport clients to the Saudi capital before arranging chartered aircraft departures.
Those being evacuated include senior figures at global financial institutions as well as affluent individuals who had been in the Gulf for business or leisure.
The surge in demand has sharply increased costs.
Ameerh Naran, chief executive of private jet brokerage Vimana Private, told Semafor that Riyadh is currently “the only real option” for those seeking to exit the region, with private jet charters from the Saudi capital to Europe reaching as much as $350,000.
Alternative routes have narrowed. Security providers initially explored using Oman as an exit corridor, but that option became unviable after reported Iranian strikes on the country’s port infrastructure and a tanker, leaving Riyadh as the most accessible transit point, the report said.
Riyadh’s role marks a notable shift in regional risk perception. In previous years, security concerns — including cross-border Houthi attacks during the Yemen conflict and earlier periods of regional instability — had led many expatriates and business leaders to favour other Gulf cities as transit hubs.
However, Saudi Arabia’s more flexible visa regime, which now allows many nationalities to obtain visas on arrival, combined with the kingdom’s ability so far to keep its airspace open, has reinforced its position as a temporary gateway out of the region.
While some schools have moved to remote learning and certain companies have advised staff to work from home, Semafor reported that daily life in Riyadh has largely continued uninterrupted compared with other Gulf cities that have faced direct attacks.
