Okaz/Saudi Gazette

RIYADH — The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah emphasized that it will not allow, under any circumstances, to misuse the annual pilgrimage of Hajj for political or sectarian purposes, and nobody will be permitted to enter the Kingdom for the purpose of carrying out acts that disturb public security and law and order.

This directive is part of the draft regulations for the functioning of the Offices of the Hajj Pilgrims’ Affairs abroad, released recently by the ministry. In the regulations, the ministry has outlined the necessary requirements and terms and conditions for the approval of these offices, stating that their annual performance will be fully under the scanner of the ministry.

According to the draft regulations, seen by Okaz/Saudi Gazette, the ministry reiterated that the licensed offices must be fully responsible for all pilgrims coming from their respective countries and this is within the framework of the regulations and instructions that are in force, and the ministry would determine the procedures that the office must adhere to.

The offices have been directed to enter the pilgrims’ data on the electronic path before their arrival in the Kingdom, and to prevent them from carrying any pictures, books, flags, slogans, or political publications of any kind or any items prohibited from entering the Kingdom. These offices shall also be responsible to ensure that their pilgrims should not engage in any practices or gatherings that disturb public order, public security, public tranquility, or public health.

The offices shall take all necessary measures with the competent authorities in their respective countries to prevent any person from coming to perform Hajj other than through the official methods approved in the Kingdom, as well as to raise awareness among pilgrims about the harm this causes to the interests of pilgrims permitted to perform Hajj from that country, as well as among those people who intend to perform Hajj in violation of the Kingdom’s regulations.

The ministry prohibited these offices and their employees from using camps, residences and means of transportation meant to serve pilgrims for purposes other than those intended for the same, or renting them out, or allowing persons other than the targeted pilgrims to use them or facilitate their entry into them. It is also prohibited carrying out commercial and brokerage activities or obtaining commissions from parties with which it contracts or deals with in relation to Hajj services, and carry out, participate, or incite directly or indirectly any acts that disturb public security, public order, public health, or public tranquility in the Kingdom. The ministry outlined that these include distributing political or religious publications or participating in distributing or printing them, or holding gatherings with political objectives, or raising flags in any place and under any name and for any reason, or holding meetings with other Hajj Affairs Offices for any purpose, or carrying out propaganda activities and printing or distributing publications for this purpose.

The ministry reiterated its determination to continue prohibiting exploitation of Hajj for political or sectarian purposes. It banned the entry of any person into the Kingdom for the purpose of carrying out acts that disturb public security and law and order. It is also prohibited closing the main headquarters and branch headquarters permanently or temporarily except after ensuring that all pilgrims have left the Kingdom, and this is also after submitting evidence of fulfillment of all regulatory, financial and contractual obligations incurred by it.

The Ministry of Hajj emphasized that if the Hajj Affairs Office, or any of its employees violates these regulations, or any of the instructions regulating Hajj affairs, in such a scenario a recommendation will be made to deport the head of the office, or any of the violating employees from the Kingdom in coordination with the relevant authorities, and not to approve the participation of the erring head of the office or any of the violating employees in the formation of the Hajj Affairs Office in future.

The ministry indicated that the number of office members will be reduced during the following Hajj seasons if the result of the evaluation of its performance is less than average in the last Hajj season, or if it is negligent in its duties and obligations, or if the office’s violations related to the roles of the office members are multiple.

The ministry instructed that it is mandatory on the part of the office to take all necessary measures to address any defect in the provision of the service, whether caused by it or by its subordinates. In the event that the office refuses to address the defect or deficiency, the ministry may assign whomever it deems appropriate to address the defect or deficiency and return its value, whatever it may be, to the office or deduct it from the guarantees or amounts in its wallet in the electronic path.

The ministry stressed that the office employees will be referred to the competent security authorities in the Kingdom immediately in the event that they commit any violations that fall within the jurisdiction of those authorities, and the decisions issued in implementation of what is stated in paragraph 1 of this article shall be final and not subject to objection before any judicial authority.

Procedures and conditions for accreditation of foreign offices

The Ministry of Hajj also spelled out the requirements that must be met by foreign Hajj offices for accreditation. Under the terms and conditions, the ministry will determine the number of employees in the offices, and it will set plans, timetables, requirements and controls that the offices must adhere to, in addition to determining the mechanisms for signing agreements, and the necessary procedures to address cases of service deficiencies caused by the offices.

According to the procedures, accreditation of offices requires several proceedings, starting with submission of an accreditation request through the diplomatic channel from the official body to which the office belongs to in each Hajj season, including data of the person responsible for the office and who will represent him in his absence, the names of the members of the working team and the tasks assigned to them, provided that none of them hold diplomatic status, in addition to the necessity that the officials of the Hajj Affairs Office and its employees be highly qualified and well-behaved, with a link to the electronic path according to the conditions and specifications prepared by the ministry for this purpose.

The draft regulations stipulate that the validity period of accreditation of members of the Hajj Affairs Office begins from the date specified by the ministry, and extends until the end of the month of Muharram of the following year of each Hijri year. Under all circumstances, the obligations of the Hajj Affairs Offices towards their pilgrims continue until they return to their countries.