The United Nations (UN) Principles for Older Persons function within the broader international human rights framework to affirm that every older individual should live in dignity, security, and independence, enjoying equal access to care, participation, and protection. In Saudi Arabia, ensuring these rights is becoming increasingly relevant amid the country’s rapid modernization and the anticipated growth of its older population.
Saudi Arabia has recognized the rights of older persons in both domestic legislation and international commitments. Article 27 of its Basic Law of Governance affirms the state’s support of social security to protect citizens in cases of illness, disability, and old age. In 2022, the country adopted the Elderly Rights and Care Law, which codifies rights to dignity, autonomy, and protection from abuse for those aged 60 and over. Saudi Arabia has also ratified key international human rights treaties relevant to older persons, such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the Convention against Torture (CAT), and the Arab Charter on Human Rights. However, these commitments are all undercut by inconsistent enforcement, weak accountability mechanisms, and the country’s refusal to fully engage with oversight processes, all of which enable human rights violations to persist.
In April 2025, UN Independent Expert Claudia Mahler visited Saudi Arabia, commending improvements in infrastructure, healthcare, and services for older persons, along with the cultural respect they are afforded. However, she also identified significant disparities affecting non-citizen elders and older detainees, revealing Saudi Arabia’s selective and uneven implementation of rights.
Despite making up a substantial part of Saudi Arabia’s aging population, non-citizen elderly residents continue to face systemic exclusion from essential rights and services. While the Kingdom has significantly invested in its public healthcare system, access to these services and social security is reserved for citizens only. Non-citizens, many of whom are lower-income workers, are left to depend on private insurance, placing them in precarious economic situations as they age. The 2022 Elderly Protection Law further perpetuates this discrimination by explicitly restricting access to care homes and government support to Saudi nationals. Although the government accepted a recommendation in 2024 to ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers, meaningful reform has yet to materialize.
Another pressing concern is the dire conditions faced by older detainees in Saudi Arabia, particularly those imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of expression. During her visit, Mahler was granted access to al-Ha’ir prison, where 80 elderly inmates are currently held. While she acknowledged the facility’s advanced medical services and heard some accounts of respectful treatment, her visit was notably restricted; she was denied access to detained dissidents, Safar bin Abdulrahman al-Hawali (75) and Salman al-Ouda (68). This refusal raises concerns about transparency and constitutes a violation of the Terms of Reference for country visits by UN Special Procedures, which guarantee independent and confidential contact with detainees.
The cases of al-Hawali and al-Ouda exemplify how Saudi authorities have weaponized counter-terrorism laws to suppress dissent, even targeting elderly individuals with severe health conditions. Al-Hawali was arrested in 2018 for his criticism of the Crown Prince, while al-Ouda was detained a year earlier for a tweet regarding Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy. Denied due process and fair trial standards, they have since faced enforced disappearance, solitary confinement, and systemic medical neglect. Al-Hawali, who suffers from renal failure, a broken pelvis, and speech disabilities resulting from multiple strokes, remains isolated in prison without the accommodations necessary to communicate or care for himself. Similarly, al-Ouda was subjected to months of abuse. Despite a brief hospitalization, the denial of essential medical care caused him to lose half his hearing and vision. If such abusive conditions are left unchecked, they risk becoming a death sentence for elderly detainees, as rights groups have reported several deaths in custody under suspicious circumstances that often go uninvestigated.
As Saudi Arabia advances its modernization efforts and its elderly population grows, it must confront the discrepancy between its official commitments and the lived realities of its most vulnerable populations. Ensuring the rights of all older persons, including non-citizens and imprisoned dissidents, requires more than just legal guarantees; it demands independent oversight, transparency, and meaningful accountability.