UAE committed to protecting human rights, envoy tells UN

Obaid Salem Al Zaabi says report of the UN Special Rapporteur contains untrue allegations, on which some of the conclusions and recommendations are based,

By (Wam)

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Published: Thu 18 Jun 2015, 11:37 PM

Last updated: Wed 8 Jul 2015, 2:53 PM

Geneva - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is committed to the protection of human rights, the UAE Permanent Representative to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva, Obaid Salem Al Zaabi, has said.

He was delivering before the UN Human Rights Council the statement of the UAE on the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of judges and lawyers from January 28 to February 5, 2014.

“As a member of the Human Rights Council, the UAE is particularly committed to cooperate with the council’s mechanisms. Accepting this visit helped to fulfil a recommendation made to the UAE during its second Universal Periodic Review in 2013.  We note that in the report, the special rapporteur thanked the government of the UAE and noted commendable progress and achievements UAE has achieved in a relatively short time,” he told the UN human rights body. The UAE, he added, would take into consideration the recommendations that are well-founded and will improve our legal and judicial system.

“The report, however, contains untrue allegations, on which some of the conclusions and recommendations are based, without specifying the criteria used in evaluating sources and information received and in deciding upon which to rely, or the names of relevant individuals or dates and particulars of specific cases. The lack of any detail regarding these allegations renders it practically impossible for the government to investigate and adequately respond to them. We encourage delegations to refer to our detailed response to other statements contained in the report, which has been issued as an official document,” he noted.

“We know that promoting human rights is an ongoing process that requires continuous effort to review legislation and strengthen institutions. The UAE is in the process of following-up on the one hundred recommendations that it accepted and is also in the process of developing a new draft federal law on the judiciary.” 

The envoy also reiterated the country’s commitment to continue to engage constructively with the special rapporteur in carrying out her mandate. 


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