NHRS campaign raises awareness about rights

Saudi Gazette report DAMMAM - The National Human Rights Society recently reported that a whopping 40 percent of Saudis are not aware of their civil and human rights. Head of the National Human Rights Society Muflih Al-Qahtani said the society has been running a campaign for the past few days to raise the awareness of human rights to Saudis and non-Saudis residing in the Kingdom. “The campaign is titled “Know your rights.” The campaign includes several publications of booklets and brochures to educate young and old Saudis and non-Saudis of their rights. The booklets are distributed in public and private sector establishments,” said Al-Qahtani. He added these booklets include a full guide to labor laws and workers’ rights as well as civil and human rights. “The booklet, also includes prisoners’ rights and children’s rights. We distribute it to schools, universities, factories and other work places. Almost half of the Saudi society is ignorant about its rights. Our campaign aims to lessen that number and hopefully our publications will reach the 40 percent of society,” said Al-Qahtani. He added that there are many in our society who have no clue about their rights and responsibilities. “Knowledge of one’s rights and responsibilities protects them from having their rights violated. The booklet also contains guidance on how to report any abuse of one’s rights and how to communicate with the society,” added Al-Qahtani. Legal consultant Sultan Al-Mikhlafi said the Saudi society is in dire need for an awareness campaign. “The campaign run by the society is not just beneficial for the individual members of society. It is also beneficial for the legal and judicial organizations in society as it gets them involved as well. The legal and judicial organizations need to also be proactive and reach out to the members of society,” said Al-Mikhlafi. He added the campaign, the society is carrying out, is a positive step but its distribution and marketing is low. “The society should have put more effort into publicizing its campaign in order for it to reach as many people as possible. The campaign should have included fieldwork and not just the publishing and distributing of booklets. The society should have been physically present at prisons, schools shopping centers and other institutions and public arenas,” said Al-Mikhlafi. He also said the society’s campaign lacked the usage of new media tools, such as YouTube videos and Twitter posts. “The greater majority of the society is on social media and YouTube. The society should have had a better marketing plan. Perhaps, it needed to consult younger members of the society,” said Al-Mikhlafi.