STATEMENT BY MALAYSIA
Review of Uruguay
18th Session of the UPR Working Group of the
Human Rights Council
27 January – 7 February 2014
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Mr. President,
Malaysia welcomes the delegation of Uruguay, led by His Excellency Minister Homero Guerrero, to the UPR Working Group of the Human Rights Council. We thank them for their presentation of its national report.
2. Malaysia appreciates the update on the progress made by the Uruguayan Government on the implementation of the recommendations received in 2009. We applaud Uruguay’s efforts in promoting and protecting the human rights of its people, and note with appreciation the eight human rights areas of focus mentioned earlier. Malaysia is also encouraged by the voluntary pledges and commitment that Uruguay has made and outlined in its national report.
3. In particular, we welcome the significant progress made by Uruguay in the past four years in addressing extreme poverty and destitution in the country, which have now been reduced to historically low levels. Malaysia, in this regard, encourages the Government to continue its resolve in its fight against poverty. Much progress is also being made in the areas of education, particularly for children, where steps have been taken to establish compulsory pre-school education. We further note the progress made in improving the rights of women and children.
4. While my delegation acknowledges the challenges and constraints faced by Uruguay in promoting and protecting the human rights of its people, we wish to make the following two recommendations:
4.1. One: to continue providing access to adequate housing, particularly by assisting low-income families; and
4.2. Two: to step up efforts to improve the quality of education and to allocate adequate resources and to address the issue of high school dropouts.
I thank you.
GENEVA
29 January 2014