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  • INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL COOPERATION

INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL COOPERATION

Introduction 

The UAE is a progressive, diverse and tolerant country that is deeply committed to human rights and to working with international partners to advance these rights at home and abroad.

From working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Secretariat to strengthen human rights on the world stage, to implementing legislation in the UAE to protect the most vulnerable, the UAE has a proven track record of working with global partners to uphold and promote human rights domestically and internationally.

International treaties

The UAE is a signatory to multiple international treaties to protect human rights, and is working hand-in-glove with international bodies to strengthen and uphold the implementation of these treaties globally: 

International partners

UN Human Rights Council

As an active and engaged member of the UN Human Rights Council, the UAE seeks to establish constructive dialogue between member states to promote respect for human rights around the world.

  • The UAE was elected to the Human Rights Council by the United Nations General Assembly for two consecutive terms from 2013 – 2018, as well as a third term from 2022 – 2024. 
  • Throughout these periods, the UAE has worked tirelessly to build consensus around key issues such as girls’ right to education, acting as the key sponsor to push through four resolutions on realising equal access to education.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 

The UAE is committed to collaborating positively with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) by keeping an open dialogue on major human rights issues, as well as submitting insightful reports at the Office’s request, such as on upholding human rights during the pandemic. 

  • The strength of the UAE’s relationship with the OHCHR is reflective of the fact Ms Nada Al Nashif, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, visited the UAE in 2021, and gave a speech on the side-lines of Expo 2020 Dubai.

UN Special Rapporteurs

The UAE is keen to strengthen its cooperation with UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteurs, which serve as independent human rights experts with mandates to report and advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. 

  • Over the years, the UAE has received several Special Rapporteurs, including the Special Rapporteur on Combatting Trafficking in Persons, and the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers.
  • The UAE has also proactively issued invitations for other Special Rapporteurs to visit the UAE, including the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Special Rapporteur on Right to Education.

Funding

The UAE is proud of its voluntary funding contributions to international human rights bodies.

  • In 2018, the UAE undertook renovation works in Room XVII of the United Nations Building in Geneva, which cost USD $22 million. 
  • In March 2019, the UAE announced a voluntary contribution of USD $1.5 million to support the programmes and activities of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 
  • In February 2020, the UAE announced it was committing USD $589,425 to support the OHCHR in anti-corruption and human rights projects.
  • The UAE has also provided additional funding to support the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture and Other Cruel Inhumane or Degrading Treatment and Punishment; the UN Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery; the UN Voluntary Fund on Disability of UNDESA; and the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Conflict Related to Sexual Violence. 

Regional collaboration

The UAE has pledged to strengthen collaboration in the field of human rights with regional organisations, such as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the League or Arab States (LAS) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). 

  • The UAE has been a signatory of the LAS’s Arab Charter for Human since 2006. Building on this commitment, the UAE is dedicated to implementing the provisions of the Charter at a national level, and is committed to submitting periodic reports to the Arab Charter Committee for Human Rights.