A/HRC/38/14 108. Egypt praised the cooperation with United Nations human rights mechanisms, and the establishment of the Gender Balance Council and of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood. 109. Estonia encouraged the United Arab Emirates to enhance cooperation with the United Nations human rights mechanisms, including by accepting requests for visits from the special procedures of the Human Rights Council. 110. The head of the delegation of the United Arab Emirates stated that the domestic authorities did not arbitrarily arrest or detain anyone, and that all arrests were carried out in accordance with domestic legal procedures. Arrested persons were immediately informed of the charges against them, and communication between them and their family was ensured. 111. A member of the delegation of the United Arab Emirates stated that, under the Constitution, personal documents, including passports, could not be confiscated. In order to ensure the implementation of that provision, a circular to that effect had been issued by the relevant ministry. Labour and federal legislation on domestic workers expressly stated that passports could not be confiscated. In the event of confiscation, migrant workers had the right to make a complaint and to recover their passport. 112. Article 53 of the Penal Code, under which husbands had previously had the right to chastise their wives, had been repealed. The Personal Status Law prohibited any abuse by the husband of his wife or her family. In the event of any verbal or physical abuse, a wife could have recourse to the courts, and could request compensation or judicial intervention. 113. The National Policy for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities had been adopted in April 2017, complementing existing federal legislation protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. The term “persons with determination” had been employed in the text of the Policy, highlighting the capacity of persons with disabilities to overcome challenges. A consultative board for persons with determination had been set up, comprising institutions at the federal, provincial and local levels and individuals capable of finding solutions to their challenges. 114. The Gender Balance Council had focused on a number of issues, including reviewing legislation, particularly with regard to discrimination against women. The Council had made significant progress, especially regarding capacity-building for women, their access to the courts and the approval of literature designed to raise awareness of women’s rights in the public and private sectors. 115. The head of the delegation of the United Arab Emirates said that tolerance was the key message that the United Arab Emirates was transmitting through its actions in a very difficult regional environment. Among other things, that message encompassed tolerance with regard to religion, ethnicity and race: such tolerance was taught in schools. There were currently around 84 non-Muslim places of worship in the country. One of the major areas of human rights work was the promotion of tolerance through both the Ministry of Tolerance and the National Tolerance Programme. 116. Finland encouraged the United Arab Emirates to engage with civil society in the follow-up of the recommendations, and to re-establish a moratorium on the death penalty. 117. France noted the progress made on children’s rights, workers’ rights and the place of women in society and their representation in positions of responsibility. 118. Gabon welcomed the “Wadeema” Act and efforts to combat human trafficking, discrimination and incitement to hatred. 119. Georgia commended the improvements in women’s political and economic empowerment, and encouraged the United Arab Emirates to further strengthen policies promoting women’s rights. 120. Germany commended the adoption of a law safeguarding the rights of children. It remained concerned by restrictions on the freedom of expression. 121. Ghana welcomed the adoption and amendment of several laws protecting human rights. It noted that a number of international human rights treaties had yet to be ratified. 9