Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Eng. Ahmed Al-Rajhi has said the national policy to promote equality of opportunities and treatment in employment in Saudi Arabia, approved by the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, will be instrumental in eliminating any discrimination in the labor market. In a statement, the minister appreciated the Saudi leadership for approving the legislative and executive means that support equal opportunities and fair treatment with regard to employment. “This manifests the Kingdom’s commitment to making equal opportunities and treatment in employment and occupation two main pillars of social and economic development of the Kingdom in the future,” he said. The newly approved policy contains a set of goals, most notably upgrading systems and policies that explicitly define and prevent discrimination, and promote equal treatment in employment and occupation, apart from putting in place procedures, programs, and initiatives to enable groups with less opportunities to enter and remain in the labor market. Al-Rajhi emphasized that the state protects human rights in accordance with the Islamic law, and facilitates areas of work for everyone who is capable of doing it. The state also enacts regulations that protect the worker and the employer in line with international treaties and agreements to which the Kingdom is a party, including the International Labor Convention No. 111 of 1958 regarding the distinction between workers in employment and occupation, approved by an earlier royal decree, under which each member to whom the agreement applies undertakes to develop a national policy that supports professional equality for workers in treatment and opportunities, in order to eliminate any discrimination between them.