Juan Gasparini/HRT

The Human Rights Council adopted the Universal Periodic Review report relating to the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday 9th December. The government rejected several of the recommendations made, most notably the abolition of corporal punishment and a moratorium on the death penalty. It also dismissed those concerning the equality of women, particularly relating to discrimination within marriage, the right to choose ones sexual orientation and religious freedom, workers rights to organise, particularly domestic workers, reforms of the media law and ratification of the Convention for migrant workers and their families.

The UAE did agree however to ratify the Convention against the Torture, (CAT), and to set up a national human rights institution.

“It is a shame that other recommendations made during the UPR session did not appear in the report, such as the ratification of the CAT additional protocol that allows for unscheduled prison visits, extension of parliament’s legislative powers and for direct elections of all of its members”, said Abdel Wahab Hani, permanent representative of the Arab Human Rights Commission in Geneva.