The 42nd Session of the Universal Periodic Review Commences

On Monday, the 42^nd Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) commenced, embarking on a two-week long Session till 3^rd February 2023. The UPR is taking place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Aligning with the Maldivian government’s key policies and priorities, the Maldives delegation will be in active engagement throughout the Session of the UPR.

During its time, it will present constructive recommendations to all 13 States that are to be reviewed at the Session. This time around, the 13 countries under review include Argentina, Benin, Czechia, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Pakistan, Peru, Sri Lanka, Switzerland and Zambia.

In his capacity, the Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations Offices in Geneva, His Excellency Dr Asim Ahmed who is also the Vice President of the Human Rights Council will be chairing some of the reviews at the session. Apart from him, the Maldives delegation also includes the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Maldives Mission, Hawla Ahmed Didi, two Counsellors at the Maldives Mission, Hassan Hussain Shihab and Aminath Shifaya Ibrahim as well as the Second Secretary at the Maldives Mission, Maryam Fathika Fayaz.

The UPR represents a state-drive process which reviews the human rights record of all UN Member States. The process puts States under review with the chance to declare actions taken to improve the human rights situations in their respective countries. Moreover, it also provides a floor for fellow Member States to provide commendations for these actions and give constructive recommendations to States to further fulfil their human rights obligations.

The UPR mechanism is formulated to provide equal treatment to every country when reviewing their human rights situation and aims to improve human rights grounds in all member states. The UPR Working Group hosts three sessions every year. The Fourth Cycle review of the UPR commenced in November 2022 and will be fully completed in 2027.