A/HRC/38/14 9. Since the launch of a gradual process of expansion of political participation in 2005, three elections to the Federal National Council had been held. Both women and men had participated in the electoral process, leading to the election of several women to the Council and to the appointment of the first female speaker of any Arab parliament. 10. The United Arab Emirates was among the highest-ranking countries in the Arab world for gender equality, according to the United Nations Development Programme gender inequality index. Women occupied two thirds of jobs in the federal Government, and there were nine female ministers in the Cabinet. More than 70 per cent of Emiratis enrolled at federal higher education institutions were women. Women had become fighter pilots in the air force, and almost half of the Emirati scientists and engineers working to send a space probe to Mars were women. 11. In 2014, a cabinet decision had been issued ordering the inclusion of women on the governing boards of all government bodies, institutions and companies. The United Arab Emirates had adopted the National Strategy for the Empowerment and Advancement of Emirati Women (2015–2021), which had set strategic goals for achieving greater equality in the workplace. It had been a core supporter of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), and had opened a liaison office in Abu Dhabi in 2016. In the context of the United Nations, the United Arab Emirates had taken a decisive stand for women’s rights in the field of education, and had spearheaded partnerships in support of the women and peace and security agenda. 12. Individuals from many different countries and backgrounds lived and worked side by side harmoniously in the United Arab Emirates, and their rights were fully protected. That melting pot of communities was fundamental to the Emirati way of life. Since the second universal periodic review, the United Arab Emirates had expanded workers’ rights and protections with new legislation and more intensive enforcement. Domestic and construction workers in particular had benefited from recent reforms. 13. Reforms to labour legislation in 2016 had allowed workers more flexibility in changing employers. The United Arab Emirates had also enacted several measures, including establishing service centres in workers’ home countries, to help ensure that all workers understood the terms of their contracts prior to their departure, and to combat unscrupulous employment agencies in their countries of origin. In 2017, a specific law had been introduced providing greater protection for domestic workers, who had been brought under the oversight of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization. 14. The National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking continued to implement an integrated national strategy to tackle the horrific violation of basic human rights that was human trafficking. In 2017, the Federal Anti-Human Trafficking Act had been amended to enhance protection for victims and to increase penalties for those found guilty of that crime. 15. Youth had been prioritized and, in 2016, the first ever Minister for Youth had been appointed to the Cabinet and a youth council had been established. A National Strategy for Youth Empowerment had also been developed, and the Ministry of Education had adopted a five-year strategic plan for implementing an innovative education system to help young people to participate in a world-class, knowledge-based economy. 16. In 2015, a new anti-discrimination law had been enacted banning all forms of discrimination on the grounds of religion, race or ethnic origin, and incitement to religious hatred. The National Tolerance Programme had been adopted and the world’s first tolerance charter had been launched. 17. The United Arab Emirates had been at the forefront of the fight against extremism in the region, supporting efforts to drive Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant from Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic, and to combat Al-Qaida in Yemen and Somalia. It had promoted and empowered moderate voices, both at home and abroad. It was also fighting dangerous ideologies online. Since 2015, the Sawab Centre in Abu Dhabi had been working hard to counter the online propaganda of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and of other extremist groups. 18. In order to mitigate the humanitarian consequences of extremism and sectarianism, in 2016, the United Arab Emirates had distributed over $4.2 billion in official development 3