Geneva: The UAE is determined to add more to its human rights record by enhancing and protecting human rights and positively responding to international practices in this regard, said Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
Dr Gargash was speaking before the UN Human Rights Council as he gave a formal presentation about the country’s achievements in human rights.
The presentation is part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, in which, once every four years, all 193 UN-member nations submit an account of how they address human rights to the Human Rights Council. This is the second such review for the UAE.
The UAE government presented a report on the progress that the UAE has made in promoting and protecting human rights.
In a bid to improve the protection of human rights across the world, once every four years the UN Human Rights Council holds a public review of each of the 193 member states of the UN to examine where they are doing well and where they can improve. This is the second such review for the UAE since the process known as the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was instituted in 2006.
The UAE government accepted thirty six recommendations stemming from its 2008 review, including measures aimed at reinforcing protection of the rights of children, women and workers. In addition, the UAE made nine voluntary pledges of its own.
In a formal presentation about the UAE's progress in implementing the recommendations from the first review, Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, informed the Human Rights Council about the steps the UAE government has taken to further enhance the protection of human rights.
"While we recognize that the UAE will continually need to review and enhance its efforts to protect human rights, the level of protection of human rights already achieved represents a significant success", said Dr Gargash in his statement.