Accepting 37 UN recommendations, "The Arab Emirates rejected, however, the adoption of 15 other recommendations. Another 17 will be considered by the government in the near future," said Dr. Anwar Gargash, UAE First Deputy Foreign Minister, who led the country's delegation, consisting of 28 members of the government, who participated in a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council recently held in Geneva.
The recommendations adopted included the consent of the United Arab Emirates to invite an expert to the country to assess the situation of illegal trafficking in human beings, as well as to improve the living conditions of unskilled workers in the UAE, to participate in seminars to improve the level of education for all residents of the country, and the adoption of a law on the protection of children's rights and the adoption of national legislation on freedom of expression and the media.
During a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council, the delegation of the United Arab Emirates also agreed to consider the possibility of creating an independent National Human Rights Institute, which will receive and analyze information from the public and monitor the observance of human rights in the country.
In his closing speech at the Council meeting, Dr. Gargash noted that "the participation of the UAE delegation in the Council meeting gave her the opportunity to demonstrate to the world community the changes that have been achieved, as well as to set new goals." Among the most important recommendations that were not accepted by the UAE were workers' rights to form trade unions and a ban on the death penalty. The United Arab Emirates also refused to promote tolerance regarding sexual orientation and the repeal of the corporal punishment law, as Sweden recommended.
While some countries of the world community recognized and approved the work and achievements of the UAE in terms of improving the social status of women, Canada recommended that the country's government adopt the Agreement on Equality between Men and Women, in accordance with the Constitution. This recommendation was not accepted by the UAE delegation, however, it was promised that the UAE would supplement the citizenship law, on the basis of which UAE women, being married not to UAE citizens, would have the right to transfer their UAE to their children in the same way as men do, having emirate citizenship, married not to emirates.
Issues related to the fact that the UAE is not a member of such international covenants as the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights were also raised. (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). The UAE delegation said the government would consider adopting such pacts in the future.
The recommendations adopted by the UAE will be implemented over the next four years, after which the country will be ready to once again demonstrate its achievements in the field of human rights to the Commission on Human Rights and the international community.
