JEDDAH, 18 March 2004 — Saudi Arabia will not be dictated to by outside forces — the United States or others — on reforms, Assistant Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Turki ibn Muhammad told the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva yesterday.

In a statement rejecting demands for a speeding up of the reform process, primarily from the US and other Western countries, he said Riyadh would pursue reform based on the needs of Saudi society, and not on ideas and theories from outside.

There was no magic formula that would fit every circumstance, said the minister. He added that Saudi Arabia is keen to draw upon the experience and knowledge of others so long as they were not in opposition to Saudi principles and values.

Prince Turki also dismissed allegations of discrimination against women in Saudi society. Some 49 percent of the country’s 4.3 million students are women, he pointed out. Women also occupy around a third of all public positions, he added.

US-led initiatives calling for more reform in Arab countries have encountered widespread government opposition throughout the region.

Dr. Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, a Shoura member, criticized Washington’s move to impose cultural or political styles on Arab countries. He said the move runs counter to the very principles of human rights. “Any reformatory act should come from the deep-rooted values of each society,” he said.

Addressing a seminar attended by the heads and members of parliamentary human rights committees in Geneva yesterday, he called for global cooperation to fight terrorism, “which not only threatens material achievements, but also the human and ethical values advocated by various religions.”

The issue of human rights has an ethical dimension. “Any country, even if it enjoys military, economic, scientific and strategic strength, has no right to undermine the rights of other countries or attack them under the pretext of protecting national, economic or strategic interests,” he told the seminar organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union.