RIYADH, July 2: Amidst reports that the New York-based Human Rights Watch has urged the government of Saudi Arabia to impose a moratorium on executions until all death penalty cases are independently reviewed, Riyadh has announced the convening of an international conference on human rights on Oct 14 this year.

This will be the first conference on human rights to be organized here.

Invitations have already been sent to a number of international and national organizations, including the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the International Red Cross Society, and the International Institute for Human Rights.

The conference’s secretary general, Abdullah Al Hazza, said the theme of the conference would be “Human rights in times of peace and war”. The conference would also discuss the Islamic approach towards human rights.

While calling for a moratorium on executions in Saudi Arabia until all death penalty cases are independently reviewed, the Human Rights Watch had insisted that the review examine the working of the justice and interior ministries.

A number of expatriates from Pakistan and India have been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia over the years, mainly on charges of trafficking in drugs.

Saudi Arabia has ratified the UN conventions on racial discrimination, discrimination against women, against torture and children’s rights. The government has also established a human rights commission.

The legal system is also under scrutiny here. A new criminal procedure code has been framed, explicitly dwelling on the rights of the accused.