By Faris Al-Qahtani

Okaz / Saudi Gazette

RIYADH — A draft resolution on sexual harassment has been kept in the drawers of the Shoura Council for too long that it has almost decayed, according to the council's members.

They said though the Council's committee on social affairs, family and youth has already approved the project recommending it for discussion, the draft resolution has not yet been put before the plenary session to accept or refuse the committee's recommendations.

Under the Council's modus operandi, if the recommendations are accepted, the plenary session will discuss the project and will summon a number of the concerned officials to take part in the discussions. If, on the other hand, the recommendations are refused, the project will be considered as rejected.

The committee said the project is commensurate with Shariah, has noble objectives and it protects the human rights of both men and women.

The committee said though there are other legislations that protect men and women against any physical abuses such as the law for protection against harms, yet they do not cover all aspects of harassment.

It considered harassment to be a crime that should be punished by law and suggested five years imprisonment and a fine of SR500,000 for it. The committee said the project, consisting of 17 articles, was suitable for discussion by the Council and expected the debate on it to start soon.

It defines the harassment as any conduct with sexual connotations from one person to another or any kind of behavior that touches one’s body or honor of another person.

The Council, on the other hand, will next week discuss agreements to import housemaids from Mauritania and Kenya.