The party’s statements

The National Assembly Party (NAAS) denounces the oppression of women in Saudi Arabia, the laws and security apparatuses’ complacency and negligence in addressing systemic violence against women, and the absence of protective structures against community and domestic violence. We condemn the Saudi authorities’ obstructive approach to community initiatives to address domestic violence and the authorities’ own increasing transgressions against women. Violence against women is rooted in practices of marginalisation, disempowerment, and discrimination, which render women vulnerable to domestic, community, and state violence. It is compounded by a patriarchal culture that assigns men as guardians over women’s lives and justifies violence under the pretext of protecting family honour and maintaining discipline. It is also reinforced by legal codes that either tolerate this culture or turn a blind eye to all forms of violence against women, and perpetuated by state authorities that suppress the voices of women, their assemblies, and movement to change this reality.

The National Assembly Party (NAAS) condemns the Zionist occupation’s aggression in Jerusalem, the brutal militaristic attack on worshippers in Al-Aqsa Mosque, the ongoing forced expulsion of Palestinians, and the transgressions against the people of Jerusalem, namely the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. The NAAS condemns the occupation’s practices, and all powers that support it, whether global, or among the autocratic Arab regimes.

The Saudi authority announced the execution of three active-duty soldiers charged with high treason. The announcement was followed by what seems to be state-directed celebration of the execution.

On the seventh anniversary of the Saudi intervention in Yemen, six years after the war, the National Assembly Party recalls the heavy toll on all sides of this war. It also recalls that Saudi and regional interventions in Yemen have not been supportive of the demands of the Yemeni people, who have been engaged in massive demonstrations demanding their fundamental rights and promoting democracy in Yemen.

The National Assembly Party (NAAS) welcomes the decision of the US administration to release the unclassified CIA report on the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi to Congress. We also welcome the public engagement of the US administration with the Saudi government to promote respect for human rights and the release of several political prisoners. We always call for involving the Saudi public through civil society institutions in the diaspora, academics and activists, in matters that concern the future of our country. Inside Saudi Arabia, there is an unprecedented and unlawful campaign of arrests, arbitrary detention, travel bans, and intimidation against reputable community leaders, journalists, human rights activists, religious reformers, and women activists that affected thousands of people.