Al Zaabi highlighted, at the beginning of his speech, that the UAE had joined the declaration of Arab countries, which thanked the OHCHR for this important report about the office’s activities during the last year.

Al Zaabi stressed that the UAE shared the concerns of the OHCHR on a range of issues that pose obstacles to the spread of human rights, according to the report, especially regarding gender equality, women?s rights, racism, discrimination, xenophobia, combatting terrorism, eliminating violent extremism and the significant delay in the implementation of the right to development declaration.

He expressed his deep regret about Bahrain?s part in the report, while adding that handling the situation in Bahrain, from a human rights perspective, is not only unrealistic, but it does not help to understand the situation in an objective way, and would not contribute to solving the current situation.

Ambassador Al Zaabi added that this view disregards the constructive steps that were undertaken by the government of Bahrain, including the establishment of an independent national commission to manage all human rights issues, as well as other reforms that reflect the desire of Bahrain to open an inclusive dialogue, based on its local laws and applied international standards.

He stated his hope that the OHCHR report would have included those details, while reiterating his invitation to its office to reconsider the Bahraini situation, and to consult and co-operate with the government of Bahrain to achieve aspirations of the Bahraini people.

Regarding the Palestinian issue, Al Zaabi said that the UAE shares the concerns of the OHCHR about the effects of the Israeli occupation, and its expansionist settlements that contradict all relevant international conventions ,and pose an obstacle to the current peace settlement between the two parties.