UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 6D) The United Arab Emirates Gender Balance Council was established in 2015 to reduce gender disparities and achieve gender balance in the public and private sectors, particularly in decision-making positions.
Para 8) … The National Strategy for the Empowerment and Advancement of Emirati Women (2015–2021) promotes women’s empowerment and capacity-building, addresses impediments hindering the participation of women in all fields, strengthens women’s participation in development initiatives and enhances the status of Emirati women in regional and international forums.
Para 26) The State has continued to strengthen its efforts towards the empowerment of women, gender equality and the elimination of discrimination against women, […] Its most important initiatives in that regard include the following:
• The launching of The National Strategy for the Empowerment and Advancement of Emirati Women (2015–2021). The Strategy provides a general reference and guiding framework for all governmental institutions at the federal and local levels, as well as for private and civil society institutions to facilitate their development of plans and programmes to ensure that women enjoy decent lives and can participate fully in the sustainable development process;
• The issuing on 9 December 2014 of a Cabinet decision that mandates the inclusion of women on the governing boards of all Government bodies, institutions and companies;
• There were 9 female members of the Federal National Council during its 16th legislative session, constituting 22.5 per cent of the Council’s total membership of 40 members;
• Emirati women comprise 43 per cent of the workforce and hold 66 per cent of governmental sector positions, including 30 per cent of senior decision-making posts. They also hold 15 per cent of professional posts;
Para 31) The third set of elections to the Federal National Council,4 held in 2015, constituted one of the most important stages in the Political Empowerment Programme. Those elections were considered to be more important than the previous elections in 2011, in that they widened the scope of citizens’ political participation. A total of 224,281 individuals took part in the election, equivalent to an increase of 66 per cent compared with 2011, and women and men participated on an equal footing, in line with the commitments of the United Arab Emirates pursuant to international declarations on political rights and the rights of women. Women’s participation rates in the 2015 election were high, with national participation rates of 52 per cent for men and 48 per cent for women. A total of 330 candidates stood for election, comprising 265 men and 74 women; women’s participation rates in the elections were therefore particularly noteworthy. For the first time, voting also took place at State diplomatic missions abroad. The 2015 vote resulted in the election of the first woman to head the Federal National Council in the country’s history; she is also the first woman to head a parliamentary institution in the Arab world.
Para 32) The Constitution of the United Arab Emirates stipulates that women and men enjoy the same rights. It also affirms the principles of equality and social justice and the full right of women to education and employment on an equal footing with men. There were significant improvements in the situation of women between 2013 and 2017, including the following:
• The promulgation on 9 December 2014 of a Cabinet decision mandating the inclusion of women on the governing boards of all Government bodies, institutions and companies;
• The inclusion of 8 female ministers in the 29-member Cabinet in 2016. This figure is one of the highest in the world, and reflects the progress achieved by women in the United Arab Emirates. The most important feature of the new Government is its structure, which includes recently-established ministries, some of which have no counterparts anywhere in the world. The most important of these ministries are the Ministries of Tolerance and Happiness, which are both headed by Emirati women and reflect the significant developments and remarkable progress achieved by the State in the fields of happiness and tolerance. Indeed, as a result of the country’s wise leadership, the Emirati people is among the happiest peoples on earth;
• There were 9 female members of the Federal National Council during the 16th legislative session, constituting 22.5 per cent of the Council’s total membership of 40 members;
• Emirati women comprise 43 per cent of the workforce and hold 66 per cent of governmental sector positions, including 30 per cent of senior decision-making posts. They also hold 15 per cent of professional posts;
• Women now work as prosecutors and judges within the judiciary and the Office of the Public Prosecutor. There are also increasing numbers of women in the police and the military;
• Women currently comprise 30 per cent of the diplomatic corps at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and, in total, there were 234 female staff members in the country’s diplomatic and consular corps in 2017. These included a number of ambassadors representing the United Arab Emirates abroad.
• Women constitute 71.6 per cent of the students at government universities and 50.1 per cent of the students in private universities and colleges. These figures are among the highest in the world;
• Women’s participation in economic activity and the labour market has increased steadily since the establishment of the Emirates Businesswomen Council. There are approximately 22,000 businesswomen registered with the country’s chambers of commerce and industry; those businesswomen are active in both domestic and international markets and oversee investments of more than 42 billion dirhams.
Para 65) In June 2015, the General Women’s Union, in cooperation with UNDP, and the Abu Dhabi-based National Committee for Elections to the National Council, organized a workshop on women and political participation. The workshop was organized as part of the State’s efforts to promote women’s empowerment and their participation in decision-making.

UN Compilation:
Para 6) CEDAW reiterated its concern over the lack of information on the legal framework defining the mandate of the General Women’s Union as the national machinery for the advancement of women. It was also concerned that the practical implementation of the national strategy for the empowerment and advancement of Emirati women remained unclear.
Para 57) CEDAW welcomed the fact that 30 per cent of leadership positions in the Government were held by women. However, it noted that women, nevertheless, remained underrepresented in the Federal National Council and in the judiciary and that, while they accounted for 71.6 per cent of university students, they represented only 15 per cent of faculty members.
Para 59) CEDAW welcomed Cabinet Decision No. 319/15F/22 on the promotion of women’s participation in the boards of directors of federal authorities, companies and institutions. However, it was concerned about the absence of a clear strategy to translate political will into reality, …

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 52) HRW stated that discrimination on the basis of sex and gender was not included in the definition of discrimination in the 2015 anti-discrimination law,…