Useful Training

The next batch of law graduates to be appointed assistant prosecutors in Abu Dhabi will strengthen the ability of the Emirate's judicial system to protect human rights.

The 29 prosecutors-to-be, all of whom have received nine months of specialized training at the Judiciary Institute of Abu Dhabi, have just completed an intensive course on human rights norms and mechanisms at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.

During the 14 – 18 July course, the participants were briefed by OHCHR staff on a wide range of subjects, including international human rights treaties, the work of the Human Rights Council, and ways to uphold human rights while countering terrorism.

The participants also had the rare privilege of attending a closed-door session of the Human Rights Committee at Geneva’s Palais Wilson, headquarters of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“In general, it was a good and very useful training programme,” says Abdullah Fares Al Nuaimi, First Deputy Prosecutor in the Public Prosecution Office of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, who accompanied the course participants.

Al Nuaimi found the presentations on terrorism and human rights, the right to a fair trial, and the independence of the judiciary to be especially helpful as they were “directly related to our practice as prosecutors.”

Course participants were made aware that the UAE’s human rights record would be in the spotlight during the December session of the Universal Periodic Review Working Group. They expressed readiness to implement—within the range of their responsibilities— recommendations arising from the review.

The participants in the Geneva course will strengthen Abu Dhabi’s efforts to increase its national capacity in the field of the judiciary, which has long relied on foreigners with the necessary legal skills. OHCHR has offered to help the Emirate mainstream human rights into the curriculum of the Judiciary Institute and provide continuous learning opportunities for practicing magistrates.

Abu Dhabi appointed its first female judge in March this year. According to a senior government official, the move reflected the Emirate's eagerness to boost the role of women in society. “Undoubtedly, there will be female trainees in our delegation next time,” says Al Nuaimi.