The government of Maldives has welcomed the Czech Republic for adopting the Government Strategy for Gender Equality 2021-2030.

This was done during the 42nd Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) which commenced at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on Monday.

The Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations Offices in Geneva Dr. Asim Ahmed in his capacity as the Vice President of the Human Rights Council, is chairing some of the reviews that are scheduled to take place at this session and also leading the Maldives delegation.

During the Universal Periodic Review session, Maldives welcomed the Czech Republic for adopting the Government Strategy for Gender Equality 2021-2030 and recommended to further enhance efforts to combat violence against women and raise awareness on available assistance and protection.

In line with the government’s key policies and priorities, the delegation from Maldives will actively engage in the ongoing session of the UPR and will present constructive recommendations to all 13 states that will be reviewed at the session.

The 13 countries under review are Argentina, Benin, Czechia, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Japan, Republic of Korea, Pakistan, Peru, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, and Zambia.

The session will continue for a fortnight and conclude on February 3.

The delegation, led by Dr. Asim, includes Deputy Permanent Representative of the Maldives Mission Haula Ahmed Didi, Counsellor at the Maldives Mission Hassan Hussain Shihab, Counsellor at the Maldives Mission Aminath Shifaya Ibrahim and Second Secretary at the Maldives Mission Maryam Fathika Fayaz.

Involving a review of the human rights record of all UN Member States, the Universal Periodic Review is a state-driven process which provides the states under review, an opportunity to declare actions taken to improve the human rights situations in their respective countries and allows fellow member states to provide commendations for these actions and constructive recommendations on how the states can further fulfill their human rights obligations.

With the objective of improving human rights situations in all countries, the UPR mechanism is designed to give equal treatment to every country when their human rights situation is assessed.

Every year, the UPR Working Group holds three sessions.

The fourth cycle review of the UPR began in November 2022 and will conclude in 2027.