The 51st session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) has begun at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, bringing together United Nations member states to assess global human rights records.
The two-week session, which runs until 30 January 2026, will see the UN Human Rights Council’s UPR Working Group examine the human rights situations in 13 countries: Australia, Austria, Georgia, Lebanon, Mauritania, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Nepal, Oman, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Sao Tomé and Príncipe.
The Maldives is participating actively in the session, with its delegation set to engage in the review process and offer recommendations to all states under examination, in line with the government’s key policies and priorities.
The UPR Working Group meets three times each year as part of a state-driven process that reviews the human rights performance of all UN member states. The current Fourth Cycle of the UPR began in November 2022 and is scheduled to conclude in 2027.
Under the UPR mechanism, each country reports on progress made in meeting its human rights obligations and commitments, while other member states provide peer-based, constructive recommendations aimed at further improvement.
The Maldivian delegation to the 51st session is led by Dr Salma Rasheed, the Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations Office at Geneva. She is joined by Counsellor Adam Hamid, Counsellor Uza Aminath Shifaya Ibrahim, Second Secretary Aishath Rayahyn, and Attaché Raaidh Saeedh from the Maldives’ Permanent Mission in Geneva.