UAE committed to human rights outlined in UN report

ABU DHABI // The UAE is committed to human rights and justice, the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations has said following a report into the nation’s legal system.

Gabriela Knaul, the UN’s special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, visited the UAE last year. Her report concluded that despite improvements to the judicial system in recent years, more progress was needed.

Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council, Obaid Al Zaabi, UAE Permanent Representative to the UN, welcomed the report but said it contained inaccuracies.

He said it made “untrue allegations, on which some of the conclusions and recommendations are based, without specifying the criteria used in evaluating sources and information and in deciding upon which to rely, or the names of relevant individuals or dates and particulars of specific cases”.

The lack of detail regarding these allegations rendered it practically impossible for the Government to investigate and adequately respond to them, Mr Al Zaabi said.

“We know that promoting human rights is a process that requires continuous effort to review legislation and strengthen institutions.”

He said the country was following the 100 recommendations of the report and seven more it partially accepted.

“The UAE is also in the process of developing a new draft federal law on the judiciary, which will strengthen protections for the independence of the judiciary and the right to a fair trial,” Mr Al Zaabi said.

He reiterated the UAE’s commitment to continue to engage constructively with the special rapporteur in carrying out her mandate.

“The UAE will carefully consider the recommendations contained in her report as part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen our judicial system and to enhance the implementation of human rights laws and principles which the UAE has adopted,” he said.

In her report, Ms Knaul said further legislation was needed to allow the judiciary to govern itself, as the Supreme Council of the judiciary is made up of seven members, with only three of them judges.

She suggested that foreign judges be provided with work guarantees and given a clear career plan, with accelerated training for more Emirati employees.

In the report, Ms Knaul said she received concerns of “arbitrarily applied” laws. “An important way to enhance the public’s legal awareness is by publishing all legislation in the official gazette.

“Yet, according to information received, the Law on State Security of 2003 was never published in the official gazette,” the report read.

Ms Knaul praised the technological developments of the courts’ management where visitors could find statistics, hearing date and court status.