ISLAMABAD: Pakis­tan’s human rights record will be examined by the Universal Periodic Rev­iew (UPR) Working Group of UN Human Rights Council, for the fourth time on Jan 30.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a process which involves a review of the human rights records of all UN Member States.

Pakistan is one of the States to be reviewed by the UPR working group during its session that will continue till February 3. The country’s first, second and third UPR reviews took place in May 2008, October 2012 and November 2017, respectively, according to a Council’s press release.

The documents on which the reviews are based are: 1) national report - information provided by the State under review; 2) 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; 3) information provided by other stakeholders including national human rights institutions, regional organisations, and civil society groups.

In its national report submitted to the council, Pakistan says it remains committed to ensuring the realisation and enjoyment of basic civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of its citizens including the right to development.

Consistent engagement with the UPR mechanism and follow-up actions pursuant to UPR recommendations reflect Pakistan’s commitment to cooperate with the Human Rights Council and its allied mechanism, the report says.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2023