UAE: The Head of State promulgates a federal law on the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission

On 30 August, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyane, the Head of State, “may God protect him” promulgated Federal Law No. 12/2021 on the National Human Rights Commission.

The law establishes an independent body called the National Human Rights Commission, which will be headquartered in the capital Abou Dabi and may open branches and set up offices in other emirates.

The Commission shall have an independent legal personality and shall enjoy financial and administrative independence in the exercise of its functions, activities and competencies. It shall aim to promote and protect human rights and freedoms in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the laws and legislation in force in the State, and the relevant international conventions, covenants and conventions.

The functions and powers of the Commission include, but are not limited to, participating with the competent authorities and authorities in the development of a national plan of action to promote and protect human rights in the State, proposing a mechanism for its implementation, working to spread a culture of human rights and raising awareness of members of society about it, including holding seminars, conferences and discussion groups on human rights, presenting proposals, recommendations and advice to the competent authorities and authorities in all matters that would protect and promote human rights, and following them up, as well as making suggestions to the competent authorities on the adequacy of legislation for international human rights instruments, covenants and conventions to which the State is a party, monitoring and monitoring any human rights violations, verifying and reporting them to the competent authorities, in addition to participating in international and regional human rights forums.

The Authority shall have a board of trustees of no less than 11 members, including the chairman… The number of full-time members shall be no less than half… The selection mechanism of the members of the Authority shall be determined by a decision of the Head of State… The selection of the members shall take into account the advisory, academic, civil society institutions, and technical and professional expertise in their personal capacity, taking into account the appropriate representation of women.. The term of the Council shall be four years, renewable once.

National human rights institutions established under the Paris Principles are official bodies established by States with a legal mandate to promote and protect human rights.

They are financially and administratively independent in the exercise of their functions, activities and competencies and are guided by the spirit of the 1993 Paris Principles for National Human Rights Institutions.

The establishment of this important mechanism is part of the UAE’s keenness to strengthen and develop its human rights institutional structure in order to strengthen the State’s position and to highlight its role in the field of human rights at the international level. In preparing the draft law on the establishment of the Authority, the State had been keen to learn about the best international practices and experiences of States that had established similar bodies.

The State has also taken care to seek the opinion and advice of a number of international and international experts, the most important of which is cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which has provided technical assistance and legal advice on the draft law, whose articles are in line with the Paris Principles for National Human Rights Institutions.