United Arab Emirates – Universal Periodic Review  

Session reviewed: 43rd session of the Universal Periodic Review

Date reviewed: May 8, 2023

Canada acknowledges and commends the UAE’s progress in advancing women’s rights, and its laudable efforts to promote tolerance, particularly on the basis of religion or belief.

Canada recommends that UAE:

• Assure that all individuals facing arrest or detention are given the right to due process, including ensuring access to consular and legal services, and that they are informed, without delay, of all charges against them.
• Guarantee freedom of expression both online and offline, and allow human rights defenders to pursue their work without fear or intimidation.
• Further strengthen labour rights through reforms that reduce migrant workers’ dependency on their employers, and ensure that domestic workers’ rights are fairly addressed through appropriate revisions to the domestic worker’s law. This includes by extending social protection benefits to migrant workers, especially domestic workers, the majority of whom are women.