Presentation of Fourth UPR on 6 November 2024

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[Link]The Royal Government of Bhutan presented its fourth national report to the UN Human Rights Council under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism on 6 November 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland. Lyonpo D.N. Dhungyel, Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade led the Bhutanese delegation composed of senior officials from various agencies of the Royal Government.

In his statement, Hon'ble Foreign Minister shared progress achieved in addressing the accepted recommendations from Bhutan's third UPR cycle as well as notable initiatives and commitments. While underlining Bhutan's challenges and development priorities, Foreign Minister reiterated Bhutan's commitment to protect and promote human rights and also sought the active support of the international community.

Member States took the floor to commend the progress made by Bhutan and recommended actions to further strengthen human rights in the country.

Established in March 2006 by the UN General Assembly in resolution 60/251, the Universal Periodic Review is a unique mechanism of the Human Rights Council that calls for each UN Member State to undergo a peer review of its human rights records every 4.5 years. Since the first periodic review in 2008, all 193 UN Member States have been reviewed three times and are currently undergoing the fourth cycle of review.