Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Abdul Aziz Al-Khayal, vice president of the Human Rights Commission, has emphasized that Saudi Arabia is keen on providing the best healthcare to all citizens and residents through an integrated network in a fair and easy manner.

“This keenness is based on the principles of Islamic Shariah as well as regional and international human rights agreements. This is also reflected in the Kingdom’s plans and policies, the most prominent of which is the Vision 2030,” he said while addressing a symposium, organized by HRC at its headquarters in Riyadh on Thursday.

The symposium, with the theme “The right to a healthy, safe and sustainable environment”, was held on the occasion of Arab Human Rights Day 2022.

In his speech, Al-Khayal said that Arab Human Rights Day represents an important occasion where we recall the importance of these rights and the need to protect and enhance them and enable people to enjoy them. He shed light on the Kingdom’s achievements in promoting and enjoining human rights and the qualitative reforms that have been achieved in this regard.

The HRC official also referred to the regulations and laws enacted by the state regarding public health and providing healthcare for all citizens and residents through an integrated network, in a fair and easy manner so as to preserve and protect the environment and prevent it from being polluted.

A number of HRC members and representatives of several ministries, government agencies and civil society institutions participated in the event. The symposium dealt with six major areas related with the Kingdom’s great efforts in dealing with the challenges of climate change and harmonizing environmental policies and legislation with human rights.

The topics of discussions also included the importance of the environment and its safety and its relationship to diseases transmitted from the environment, the role of mayoralties and municipalities in promoting the health and protection of the environment, and sustainable development goals and human rights, in addition to the role of civil society institutions in protecting the environment.