On October 9, 2024, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (hereafter referred as “the Committee”) examined Saudi Arabia’s record during its fifth periodic review. Following its review of Saudi Arabia, the Committee issued its Concluding Observations on the country’s record regarding the protection of women’s rights on October 29, 2024, identifying more than twenty principal areas of concern with regards to Saudi Arabia’s implementation of its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which it ratified in 2000. The Committee issued recommendations regarding the targeting of women human rights defenders, use of the death penalty, lack of protection for women migrant domestic workers, the persistence of a de facto male guardianship system and other issues related to safeguarding women’s rights in Saudi Arabia.
