Intervention of the Delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the Forum on Minority Issues November 26-27 2013 Madam President We would like to welcome the convening of this Forum on Minority Issues, we also would like to welcome the President of the Forum, the Independent Expert on Minority Issues and the President of Special Procedures of the High Commission for Human Rights and the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and all those present Madam President My country has strived on both a national and global level to establish the values of tolerance, understanding and dialogue, to confront extremism and to deepen dialogue between the followers of [all] religions and sects in order to spread the spirit of tolerance and to strengthen moderation. This is what the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdelaziz, called for: a dialogue between different religions, cultures and civilisations that was launched from the Qibla in Mecca in 2008, continued with the conferences in Madrid, New York and Geneva and culminating with the creation of the International King Abdullah bin Abdelaziz Center for Dialogue between the followers of religions and cultures in 2011 in Vienna with the participation of the Kingdom of Spain and Austria. The goal was to renounce intolerance and spread a culture of tolerance and coexistence, and respect for cultural and religious differences in all nations and human societies. This is the goal that my country seeks hard to achieve until the spirit of love, tolerance and peace pervades between the peoples of the world. Madam President My country’s delegation refuses any attempts that seeks to show that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia differentiates between its citizens in any form. All Saudi citizens are Muslims with the same rights and duties. These rights were guaranteed by the Basic Law of Government. I will now quickly point out some of the articles concerning these rights. For example, Article 26 states that the State shall protect human rights according to Sharia Law. Article 28 states that the State shall provide work for all those who are able bodied and shall pass laws that protect the worker and employer. Article 30 states that the State shall provide general education and commitment to eradicate illiteracy. Article 36 states that the State shall provide security for all its citizens and to those who reside in its territories, and