UPR Sexual Rights Database

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 2) Treatment Action Group (TAG) indicated that, despite several recommendations under the 2008 and 2013 UPR reviews […] the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had not acceded to ICESCR nor ICCPR.

UN Compilation:
Para 40) CEDAW was concerned that it was still possible for a husband to prohibit his wife from working and to limit her freedom of movement, pursuant to articles 71 and 72 of the Personal Status Law. It urged the United Arab Emirates to repeal those articles without delay and to review any other provisions that impeded women’s free choice of profession and employment.
Para 47) OHCHR stated that issues relating to women’s rights under personal status laws, such as Federal Law No. 28 (2005), remained in need of development, as they continued to fall outside of the provisions of the CEDAW.
Para 48) CEDAW was concerned that the principle of equality of women and men had still not been enshrined in the Constitution and national legislation, and that discrimination against women had not yet been defined in accordance with the CEDAW and prohibited by law.
Para 49) [CEDAW] was particularly concerned about the de jure maintenance of male guardianship of women and girls, the impossibility for an Emirati woman to sign her own marriage contract, the continued practice of dowry, the obligation imposed on a woman to obey her husband, including sexually, the maintenance of polygamy and the limited grounds available to women to seek divorce, while men could unilaterally request a divorce for any reason.
Para 50) CEDAW took note of the 2011 decree granting nationality to children born of Emirati women and foreign fathers upon reaching the age of majority. However, it remained concerned that Emirati women were still denied equality regarding nationality compared with the rights guaranteed to men.
Para 51) [CEDAW] was deeply concerned that a divorced woman lost custody of her daughters when they reached 13 years of age and of her sons when they reached 11 years of age, or even before those ages if she remarried.
Para 52) [CEDAW] noted with serious concern that, in 2010, the Federal Supreme Court had issued a ruling upholding the right of men to chastise their wives and children and that, in 2013, the United Arab Emirates had not accepted the recommendation made during the second cycle of the universal periodic review to repeal article 53 of the Penal Code, which authorized that right. The Committee was also concerned about the slow progress that had been achieved in enacting comprehensive legislation on violence against women.
Para 53) [CEDAW] was concerned about violence against women resulting from the criminalization of consensual sexual relations between adults outside of marriage, under article 356 of the Penal Code, and the use of that article to criminalize women in prostitution and women who were victims of trafficking, sexual exploitation and abuse. It was concerned that, in all those cases, women faced harsh sanctions, such as prison sentences, torture and the death penalty, and inhuman, cruel or degrading punishment in the form of stoning or flogging. It was also concerned that hundreds of women were reportedly serving sentences after being convicted of having sexual intercourse outside of marriage (zina).
Para 54) [CEDAW] was concerned that access to justice by women and girls, including effective legal remedies, was severely hampered by the reluctance to register complaints and the negative attitudes of law enforcement officials towards women denouncing acts of violence committed against them.
Para 55) [CEDAW] was also concerned about the discriminatory treatment of women in courts, especially foreign women, the lack of interpretation services and legal aid and the disproportionately severe sentences imposed on foreign women in criminal court proceedings.

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, …
Para 53) GCENR stated that the nationality law discriminated on the basis of gender with regard to the conferral of nationality on non-national spouses. Article 3 enshrined the right of Emirati men to confer nationality on foreign spouses, however, the same right was denied to Emirati women.
Para 54) According to HRW, Federal Law No. 28 of 2005 regulated matters of personal status, and some of its provisions discriminated against women. For instance, the law provided that, for a woman to marry, her male guardian must conclude her marriage contract; men had the right to unilaterally divorce their wives, whereas a woman who wished to divorce her husband must apply for a court order; a woman could lose her right to maintenance if, for example, she refused to have sexual relations with her husband without a lawful excuse; and women were required to “obey” their husbands. A woman might be considered disobedient, with few exceptions, if she decided to work without her husband’s consent.
Para 55) HRW continued that Article 53 of the Penal Code allowed the imposition of “chastisement by a husband to his wife and the chastisement of minor children” so long as the assault did not exceed the limits prescribed by Sharia, or Islamic law. Marital rape was not a crime. Furthermore, in 2010, the Federal Supreme Court issued a ruling—citing the Penal Code—that sanctioned husbands’ beating and inflicting other forms of punishment or coercion on their wives, provided they did not leave physical marks.
Para 56) According to HRW, Article 356 of the Penal Code criminalizing (but not defining) “indecency” provided for a minimum sentence of one year in prison. In practice, UAE courts used this article to convict and sentence people for zina offenses, which included consensual sexual relations outside heterosexual marriage.

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,…