UAE praises Austria's UPR report

ABU DHABI, 10th November, 2015 (WAM) -- Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations and Other International Organisations in Geneva, Ambassador Obaid Salem Al Zaabi, has delivered the UAE's statement before the UN Human Rights Council. This UAE's statement came following a review of the national report of Austria for Human Rights before the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) At the beginning of his keynote address, Al Zaabi welcomed the Austrian Justice Minister, Wolfgang Brandstetter, and his accompanying delegation, expressing his appreciation for the Universal Periodic Review that was presented. In this regard, Al Zaabi pointed to Austria's commitment to human rights and its numerous achievements in this area, noting, in particular, the measures taken to promote children's rights and equality for women and to improve the conditions of the gypsies. Al Zaabi also pointed out that there are reports which say that women are still disproportionately represented in part-time jobs with low wages and they often receive lower wages than men for work of equal value. He stressed that the UAE is concerned about reports of manifestations of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance and incitement to hatred, violence and discrimination against persons belonging to minorities, including Muslims. According to the mechanism adopted in the UPR, Al Zaabi presented three recommendations to the Austrian delegation. The first recommendation called for taking measures to ensure equal opportunities for women in the labour market, while the second one called for enhancing public awareness about promoting tolerance and respect for cultural diversity, confronting prejudice and stereotypes and discrimination, racism and hate campaigns against Islam. The third recommendation asked the Austrian delegation to prevent incitement to hatred and violence and work towards elimination of hate speech and discrimination in the media. The UPR's working Group is holding its 23rd session in Geneva from November 2nd to 13th, 2015. – Emirates News Agency, WAM -http://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395287789930.html