Statement by India during the Interactive Dialogue in the 4^th UPR of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the 41^st Session of the Universal Periodic Review Working Group (07-18 November 2022) delivered by Ms. Seema Pujani, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India [Geneva, 10 November 2022]

Mr. President,

We warmly welcome the presentation by the delegation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

2. We appreciate the wide-ranging initiatives taken by the United Kingdom for the promotion and protection of human rights since its last review in 2017. We commend the enactment of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and the publication of the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2021. We also note with appreciation the focus on women’s health as well as the rights of persons with disabilities in its policies and programmes.

3. In the spirit of constructive cooperation, India recommends the following to the United Kingdom:

1. i. Continue with legislative and policy measures for ensuring pay parity and equal access to safe reproductive health services across all of the United Kingdom;
2. ii. Continue to strengthen the functioning of its various National Human Rights Institutions, in accordance with the Paris Principles; and,
3. iii. Consider further measures to ensure the minimum age of marriage is raised to at least 18 years across all of the United Kingdom.

4. We wish the delegation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland all the success in its review.

I thank you.