President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has set out plans to establish a National Human Rights Institution in the UAE.
To achieve its objectives, the NHRI shall participate, along with the relevant authorities, in the development of a national action plan to promote and protect human rights in the country, to propose a mechanism for its implementation, and to promote a culture of human rights and submit proposals, recommendations, and advice to the relevant authorities.
Sheikh Khalifa issued a federal law to set up the independent body, which will have its headquarters in Abu Dhabi.
As part of its blueprint for the future, the institution will provide information to authorities on whether national laws are aligned with international treaties and conventions on human rights to which the UAE is a signatory.
It will track human rights breaches and report them to relevant authorities.
The institution could open further branches across the country as part of a long-term vision to advance human rights.
The institution shall be an independent legal entity, which has financial and administrative autonomy in the exercise of its functions, activities, and competencies.
The NHRI aims to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms following the provisions of the UAE Constitution, laws and legislation in force in the UAE, as well as relevant international conventions.
The federal law issued by Sheikh Khalifa states that the NHRI should have a board of trustees comprising at least 11 people, half of whom will work on a full-time basis.
The term of membership of the NHRI shall be four years, renewable once, beginning from the date of the issuance of the resolution.
The human rights institutions that are established per the Paris Principles are treated as official state-created organizations for the promotion and protection of human rights.
Such institutions enjoy financial and administrative autonomy in exercising their mandates and are guided by the Paris Principles for the National Human Rights Institutions, which were adopted in 1993.
The NHRI aims to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms following the provisions of the UAE Constitution, laws and legislation in force in the UAE, as well as relevant international conventions.
The establishment of this key mechanism stems from the UAE’s eagerness to develop its institutional structure of human rights in a way that will enhance the country’s position and highlight its role in advancing it.
In developing the law, the UAE set out to follow the best practices of other countries that have developed similar institutions.
The UAE also sought advice from international organizations, most notably the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which provided legal and technical assistance to draft the NHRI law.
