Countries / Saudi Arabia / Dossier
Saudi Arabia
A combined view of Saudi Arabia's UN General Assembly speeches, treaty commitments, and voting record.
The narrative paragraphs below are AI-generated syntheses of the data shown — the tables and figures themselves come directly from the underlying records, not from the AI.
Compare with another country →Speech history
Saudi Arabia's General Assembly rhetoric has evolved toward greater emphasis on multilateralism and diplomatic framing, rising from a fractured 46 on multilateralism in 2015 to sustained levels of 68–74 from 2021 onward. While emotional intensity has consistently remained low to moderate, and concreteness has stayed relatively stable (58–74), the kingdom has gradually elevated self-accountability scores, particularly in recent years, reflecting a shift from more assertive regional posturing toward measured, detail-oriented diplomatic engagement that emphasizes mediation, humanitarian initiatives, and financial commitments across multiple crises.
Treaty status
Full treaty record →Saudi Arabia demonstrates strong commitment to environmental and human rights treaties, having ratified 18 of 24 tracked instruments, including all major environmental agreements from the Paris Agreement to the Montreal Protocol, and four core human rights conventions. However, it notably abstains from arms control and international justice frameworks, declining to ratify the Arms Trade Treaty, Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, or the Rome Statute, while also taking no action on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights—a pattern indicating selective engagement with human rights law and explicit resistance to restrictions on military autonomy and international judicial oversight.
Arms control & security
- Arms Trade TreatyNo action
- Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban TreatyNo action
- Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their DestructionNo action
- Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear WeaponsNo action
Environment & climate
- Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their DisposalRatified
- Convention on Biological DiversityRatified
- Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone LayerRatified
- Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeRatified
- Minamata Convention on MercuryRatified
- Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone LayerRatified
- Paris AgreementRatified
- Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International TradeRatified
- Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic PollutantsRatified
- United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in AfricaRatified
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeRatified
Human rights
- Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or PunishmentRatified
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against WomenRatified
- Convention on the Rights of Persons with DisabilitiesRatified
- Convention on the Rights of the ChildRatified
- International Covenant on Civil and Political RightsNo action
International justice
- Rome Statute of the International Criminal CourtNo action
Trade & governance
- United Nations Convention against CorruptionRatified
- United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized CrimeRatified
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the SeaRatified
Voting record
Full voting record →Saudi Arabia maintains overwhelming alignment with General Assembly consensus, voting affirmatively on 86% of recorded votes (4,922 of 5,694), with abstentions accounting for most dissent. Its rare explicit "no" votes cluster on issues of human rights enforcement and extrajudicial accountability—such as opposition to resolutions on summary executions and capital punishment—as well as regional disputes like Cyprus, suggesting principled dissent centered on limiting international scrutiny of domestic governance and judicial practices while otherwise operating within mainstream UN voting patterns.
Notable dissents from consensus
Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2010-12-21 · voted N · 99% voted yes
Capital punishment : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
1971-12-20 · voted N · 98% voted yes
Question of Cyprus : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
1978-11-09 · voted N · 96% voted yes
International Year for Human Rights : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
1967-12-18 · voted N · 96% voted yes
Question of Cyprus : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
1979-11-20 · voted N · 95% voted yes
Human development
Full HDI record →Human Development Index: 0.900 (Very High), ranked #37 globally in 2023.
Combines life expectancy, education, and income into one comparable score, 0 to 1. Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025 — deterministic figures, not AI-generated.
1990–2023