Many advances took place in the UAE to further enshrine human rights as part of the country’s broader development policies.
These include the adoption of federal legislation concerning equal pay for both sexes, protection against domestic violence, public health, civil proceedings, juvenile offenders and persons at risk of committing crimes, persons of unknown origin, penal procedures, labor relations and protections for service workers, and personal status laws for non-Muslims.
In addition, the UAE has made important and comprehensive changes to laws on combating discrimination and hatred, criminal offenses and penalties, and commercial issues. Moreover, the UAE adopted over 68 laws from 2019 to 2022 to bolster the country’s legal framework, legal guarantees, and institutional structures to protect human rights and elevate social justice.
This is in addition to the establishment of the National Human Rights Committee, which is overseeing the implementation of the National Human Rights Action Plan in partnership with civil society bodies. Key laws, policies, and strategies have been adopted to combat discrimination and hatred were adopted.
The UAE will also outline its efforts to support global climate action by hosting the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Expo City Dubai in November 2023.
COP28 will focus on implementing climate change commitments and pledges, collaborating on concrete action, and finding solutions to address challenges and leverage opportunities to ensure a sustainable future for coming generations.
On women’s empowerment, the UAE believes that women’s rights are fundamental to social development, as women constitute one-third of the country’s ministers and account for 50% of the members of the Federal National Council.
Women also hold important positions in education, business, entrepreneurship, technology, space, climate change mitigation, and environmental protection, with the UAE ranking first in the world in 30 indicators of women's global competitiveness for 2022 and 2023.
In terms of gender balance in government institutions, women represent 46.6% of the total workforce and occupy 66% of public sector jobs, including 30% of decision-making positions and 15% of technical and academic positions.
The UAE has also taken measures to protect children and provide them with adequate care, having enacted legislation to uphold children’s rights. The Wadeema’s Law ensures the protection of children, the exercise of their rights, and respect for their privacy. The law also led to the establishment of child protection units in a number of ministries and local authorities.
Supporting the rights of people of determination, the National Center for Diagnosis and Assessment was established to identify disabilities and maintain a comprehensive database on these cases. In 2019, the UAE also issued a policy to protect people of determination.
That year, the UAE Government passed the Law on the Rights of Senior Emiratis, which guarantees them protection from violence, abuse, and neglect, as well as the right to a decent environment, housing, education, employment, and social benefits.
The UAE has implemented a wide range of legislative and regulatory reforms and provides numerous services to uphold workers' rights, including through the enactment of Federal Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Employment Relations, which led to structural change in the UAE labor market.
The law allows for the movement of workers between jobs, and the UAE guarantees workers’ healthcare, as well as maternity leave, sick leave, and both partial and full disability coverage. Moreover, the Unemployment Insurance Scheme was introduced to provide insurance coverage to private sector workers in the event of unemployment.
Regarding the fight against human trafficking, the UAE's National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking (NCCHT) continues to implement the national strategy based on five pillars: prevention, prosecution, punishment, protection of victims, and promotion of international cooperation.
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