Three UN experts on cultural rights, extreme poverty and adequate housing urged [UN news] the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to stop the demolition of a 400-year-old neighborhood in Awamia on Wednesday. According to Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain [report] the historic quarter of Awamia, al-Masora, has a significant cultural history. The walled city holds mosques, markets and businesses and is home to about 2,000 to 3,000 people. The Saudi government is planning to demolish the historic architecture and replace it with commercial and service areas. The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing warns that what is happening constitutes as forced eviction which is a violation of human rights. Those who are ousted are forced to relocate or are left homeless as the government is not supplying housing alternatives. Many have lost possessions as well as their livelihoods in the destruction. The experts concluded by demanding an immediate halt on the demolition.

Saudi Arabia has drawn international criticism for perceived human rights abuses in recent years. Earlier this month UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Ben Emmerson, said [JURIST report] that Saudi Arabia’s anti-terrorism laws are too broad and post a threat to individual rights. In February Human Rights Watch reported [JURIST report] that Saudi Arabia was intensifying actions against human rights advocates and writers. In January 2015 a Saudi judge sentenced prominent human rights lawyer Walid Abu al-Khair to an additional five years in jail [JURIST report] after he refused to show remorse for “showing disrespect” to authorities and creating an unauthorized association. In October 2014 a Saudi Arabia Court sentenced three lawyers to between five and eight years in prison for criticizing the justice system [JURIST report] on Twitter by accusing authorities of carrying out arbitrary detentions. Earlier that month Amnesty International issued a report claiming that Saudi Arabia persecutes rights activists and silences government critics [JURIST report], especially in the years since the Arab Spring in 2011. In July 2014 then-UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navy Pillay, expressed deep concern [JURIST report] over the harsh sentences and detention of peaceful human rights advocates in Saudi Arabia in recent months.