In the context of its review of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s discourse at the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council, held from 24 February 2020 to 12 March 2020, ESOHR found that Saudi Arabia’s rhetoric on the right to housing for citizens and residents is misleading and not in line with reality.
During the discussion of the report of Leilani Farha—Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living and on the right to non-discrimination in this context—at the 43rd session of the HRC, Saudi Arabia said that its vision focuses on comprehensive growth, including the social and economic issue of housing.
In a statement made by the Saudi representative, Abdullah al-Qahtani, Saudi Arabia discussed the practical steps and plans carried out by the Ministry of Housing, through which it was transformed from an implementer and developer to a regulator of the housing sector after a comprehensive study of the market. Likewise, Saudi Arabia said that the creation of the first house using a 3D printer technique is an achievement that aims to improve price and standardize quality. It committed to move forward to provide adequate housing to all residents and citizens.
Through its monitoring of Saudi Arabia’s discourse at the HRC, ESOHR believes that Saudi Arabia not only provides misleading information on issues related to civil and political rights, but it also practices the same behavior with issues related to social and economic rights. The housing issue is among the most significant issues society is facing, and the government’s repeated promises in this area are not new.
Saudi Arabia handles the housing issue like it does other issues, with selective, premature rhetoric that does not present the scale of the crisis nor reflect the degree of suffering the population is experiencing. In 2013, official reports confirmed that 80% of Saudis do not own a home, amid corrupt practices of influential figures in the royal family, including a widespread monopoly on land. To date, official policies still do not sufficiently facilitate home ownership.
Saudi Arabia covers 2.15 million square kilometers and enjoys ample vacant land, but it is always eager to spread misinformation about the reality of the country’s housing problem. It is difficult for a large part of the population to own a home. In addition, some of those who own a home do so with the help of a bank loan that they have to repay for many years, presenting a heavy burden that drains a large proportion of their income.
Most residents live in rental housing. Many families are poor and have difficulty paying the monthly rent for their homes. Despite the lack of realistic statistics, observations indicate that many families may live in one dwelling, deliberately built vertically. Sometimes as many as six families are in one home or crowded into small apartments that may often not meet safety standards.
In its suppression of freedoms, Saudi Arabia prevents activists and civil society components from criticizing the housing issue. Due to the increased repression, rarely does anyone now critique this burdensome issue for the population. Some of those who had previously criticized the issues surrounding the housing crisis are now in prison, including the economic expert, Essam al-Zamil, who had often proposed radical and bold solutions.
Moreover, while discussing its housing plans, the government is threatening to evict thousands from their homes and land on account of the NEOM project to “build the most advanced city” at the expense of the indigenous population. The plans reportedly threaten to bulldoze the lands of the indigenous people and scatter them, especially members of the Howeitat tribe.
The Saudi government has established several projects that displaced residents and deprived them of their homes, including people in the Masura neighborhood in the city of Awamiyah. In a statement issued in April 2017, the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, Leilani Farha, criticized the Saudi plans for Masura. She emphasized that the population is experiencing many forms of pressure pushing them to evacuate their homes without any consideration for the legal frameworks that protect them from forced eviction. Ms. Farha explained that these pressures leave the population, at best, without sufficient compensation.
ESOHR believes that the Saudi government is an obvious and main cause of the housing crisis, and its exclusion of civil society and activists from the discussion of the housing issue is evidence of its lack of resolve. In fact, many benefit from the crisis by accumulating wealth, some of whom are members of the ruling family and merchants with ties to decision-makers.
The misleading rhetoric at the HRC will not resolve the housing issue. Civil society has proposed several solutions, but the government has demonstrated its unwillingness to resolve the issue.