ع
The Saudi Authority for the Care of People with Disabilities announced on August 17, 2026, that it had formed a specialized committee to review violations by non-governmental establishments and impose penalties. The authority said penalties would reach SR500,000 for initial breaches, doubling for repeat offenses, as it assumes its regulatory role under the relevant legislation. A statement from the authority outlined that the move activates provisions prohibiting private entities from depriving persons with disabilities of their rights or services.
Article 25 of the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities provides the basis for these penalties, according to the authority. The law bars non-governmental bodies from adopting discriminatory policies or failing to uphold principles set out in its second article. The authority added that its board-issued rules govern the inspection processes and committee operations tied to enforcement.
Major violations include direct or indirect discrimination in dealings with disabled persons, preventing them from completing legal transactions and depriving them of access to services or the right to mobility, the authority stated. These categories emerged from the authority’s clarification of the law’s scope across multiple fields. The framework aims to address barriers that have historically limited full participation for affected individuals.
The Council of Ministers issued resolution 110 in February 2023 to regulate the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a step that strengthened legal protections and assigned oversight duties to the authority. General Authority for Statistics data from recent years places the prevalence of disabilities involving extreme difficulty at 2.9 percent of the Saudi population. Separate assessments have put the overall figure for citizens reporting some form of disability near 3.3 percent based on earlier surveys covering more than 20 million Saudis.
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development maintains 38 comprehensive rehabilitation centers across the kingdom to support persons with disabilities, according to ministry figures. These facilities form part of broader efforts to deliver services in health, education and employment that the 2023 law seeks to safeguard. The authority has emphasized its commitment to carrying out inspections and applying penalties uniformly to ensure compliance by private sector operators.
Public platforms such as my.gov.sa detail additional government initiatives to integrate persons with disabilities into society while addressing their specific needs. The authority’s latest enforcement action builds directly on the legal foundation established three years ago. Officials indicated that the committee would handle cases systematically under the published regulatory procedures.
