United Nations to examine Dominica’s human rights record

Dominica’s human rights record will be under review for the fourth time by the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group during a session on Thursday. The country is one of 14 states scheduled for review during the current UPR session, which will conclude on November 15.

This marks the fourth time that Dominica has undergone the UPR process, following its previous reviews in December 2009, May 2014, and May 2019. The UPR provides a platform for countries to present their human rights efforts and challenges, with recommendations from other UN member states aimed at improving human rights conditions. The ongoing review of Dominica will assess the progress made since its last evaluation and address any ongoing or emerging human rights issues.

The Dominica delegation will be led by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Business, Trade and Energy, Dr Vince Henderson.

The three country representatives serving as rapporteur for the review of Dominica are Brazil, Kuwait, and Somalia.

The UPR Working Group is comprised of the 47 Member States of the Human Rights Council. However, each of the 193 UN Member States can participate in a country review.

- Advertisement -

The documents on which the reviews are based are the national report in which information provided by the State under review, the information contained in the reports of independent human rights experts and groups, known as the special procedures, human rights treaty bodies, and other UN entities as well as information provided by other stakeholders including national human rights institutions, regional organisations, and civil society groups.

The UPR said that the three reports will serve as the basis for the review of Dominica.

The UPR is a peer review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States. Since its first meeting was held in April 2008, all 193 UN Member States have been reviewed thrice. During the fourth UPR cycle, States are again expected to spell out steps they have taken to implement recommendations posed during their previous reviews which they committed to follow up on and highlight recent human rights developments in the country.

The UPR Working Group is scheduled to adopt the recommendations made to Dominica on Wednesday November 13 and it adds that Dominica may wish to express its positions on recommendations posed to it during its review.