UAE Reviews Its Achievements On Women’s Empowerment Before UN - Update

The United Arab Emirates presented on Tuesday its initial report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in accordance with the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women which stipulates that States Parties to the Convention should report periodically to the Committee on the progress they made in the implementation of the provisions of the Convention.

The UAE Delegation, headed by Her Excellency Reem Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State, included H.E. Mr. Abdulraheem Al Awadhi, Assistant Minister for Legal Affairs and International Organizations at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and H.E. Mr. Obaid Salim Al Zaabi, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the United Nations in Geneva and other members of the Permanent Mission in Geneva in addition to representatives from various UAE ministries and institutions concerned with the issues of women such as the Federal National Council, Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Health, Labour, Education, Social Affairs, and Justice, Judicial Department of Abu Dhabi and other UAE Institutions including the General Women’s Union, Family Development Foundation, Abu Dhabi Shelter for Women and Children, Dubai Social Development Authority, Dubai Foundation for Women and Children and the UAE Association for Human Rights.

In her presentation, Her Excellency Reem Al Hashemy has highlighted the achievements of the UAE in the implementation of the Convention and the progress it has made in the field of protection of women’s rights and their empowerment in the society.

The Members of the Committee of the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women have expressed their appreciation for the report of the UAE and commended the progress it achieved in enabling women in the UAE. The Members of the Committee also asked some questions on the content of the report.

In her review of the report of the State, Her Excellency the Minister stated that the UAE government has elaborated consistent strategic plans towards the development of a national legislation so as to ensure a full integration of women’s rights and their positive participation in the process of the economic development of the country.

These plans are in line with the principles of women promotion and non-discrimination and come as part of the international obligations of the UAE to implement the provisions of the Convention which is given by the UAE Constitution a binding legal force that is equal to national laws, as is the case to all other similar human rights conventions to which the UAE is a member such as the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol to Prevent and Punish Trafficking in Persons especially Women and Children, the ILO Conventions to combat all forms of discrimination against women such as Equal Remuneration Convention of 1957, the Convention on the Prevention of Discrimination in Employment and Occupation of 1958, and the Night Work Convention (Women) Revised of 1948.

In the field of regional cooperation on issues concerning women, Her Excellency the Minister noted that the UAE hosts the office of the Arab Family Organization which was established in 1977 which includes in its membership almost all Arab countries. In addition, the UAE is an active member of the Arab Women Organization which was established in 2000, and which carries out its activities through the League of Arab States, as a body for the empowerment of Arab women and strengthening their capacities in all fields as a crucial component for social progress.

Furthermore, Her Excellency the Minister highlighted the degree of attention given by the UAE in the preparation of this report and in its dealings with the Commission, guided by the wise leadership of the State. In this respect, the delegation included members representing most major institutions concerned with women’s issues, with the desire to work in transparency and accept challenges and work diligently towards finding solutions to these challenges on the basis of the reality of our society and in consistence with our beliefs and our cultural heritage Her Excellency the Minister also stated that the Emirati women can be proud of what has been achieved in the field of women empowerment in the UAE for a period as short as 38 years, which is also the time of the existence of the UAE, and that can be considered, by all standards, an important and remarkable progress. She referred to the UNDP reports on human development for 2007 and 2008 which have classified the UAE in the 44th rank out of a list of 177 countries and on the 29th rank in terms of woman development worldwide, and in the first rank in the Arab World and GCC countries in the field of women empowerment.
 

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