ISLAMABAD: Mini­ster of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar will lead Pakistan’s delegation to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Jan 30 to present Pakistan’s national progress report under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the council, the Foreign Office said on Thursday.

Foreign Office Spokes­person Mumtaz Zahra Baloch informed media during FO’s weekly briefing that this would be Pakistan’s 4th review. Previously, she said, Pakistan had been reviewed under this process in 2008, 2012 and 2017.

In the presentation, Ms Baloch said, the minister of state would outline the wide-ranging legal, policy, administrative and institutional steps taken by Pakistan to safeguard and advance human rights over the last five years.

Ms Khar will also highlight Pakistan’s important contributions towards global human rights discourse and norm-building.

Established in 2007, the UPR is an important mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council.

Under this peer-driven review mechanism, human rights record of all UN Member States is reviewed every four to five years.

Pakistan will continue its constructive engagement with the Human Rights Council and the UN Human Rights Machinery.

Ms Baloch also briefed journalists on the foreign minister’s recent visit to Tashkent.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2023