The 44th Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) has commenced.

The 44th UPR session, which commenced at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on Monday, will continue for a period of two weeks and is set to conclude on November 17.

The delegation of Maldives comprises of Counsellor Adam Hamid, Counsellor Aminath Shifaya Ibrahim, Second Secretary Maryam Fathika Fayaz, Third Secretary Mizna Waheed and Attache at the Maldives Mission in Geneva Mohamed Raaidh Saeed.

The delegation is being led by Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations Offices at Geneva Dr. Asim Ahmed.

The Maldives will actively engage in the 44th UPR session in line with the key policies and priorities of the government of Maldives and provide constructive recommendations.

The fourteen countries under review are Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Canada, Cameroon, Colombia, Cuba, Djibouti, Germany, Russia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu and Uzbekistan.

Calling for each United Nations (UN) member state to undergo a peer review of its human rights records every four and a half years, the UPR is a unique mechanism of the Human Rights Council.

The review process allows each state under review to have the opportunity to report on actions taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to overcome the challenges to the enjoyment of human rights.

In addition to this, it also enables fellow member states to offer constructive recommendations on how the member states can further improve their human rights obligations.

Groups of three states known as “Troikas” will assist each state review. The group serves as rapporteurs.

As a member of the Human Rights Council, Maldives has been selected to be represented in the Troika for the review of Azerbaijan. 

In his capacity as the Vice President of the Human Rights Council, the Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations Offices in Geneva will chair some of the reviews during this session.