A/HRC/27/8 Introduction 1. The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, established in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 of 18 June 2007, held its nineteenth session from 28 April to 9 May 2014. The review of Bhutan was held at the 6th meeting, on 30 April 2014. The delegation of Bhutan was headed by Lyonpo Damcho Dorji, Minister for Home and Cultural Affairs. At its 10th meeting, held on 2 May 2014, the Working Group adopted the report on Bhutan. 2. On 15 January 2014, the Human Rights Council selected the following group of rapporteurs (troika) to facilitate the review of Bhutan: Maldives, Peru and South Africa. 3. In accordance with paragraph 15 of the annex to resolution 5/1 and paragraph 5 of the annex to resolution 16/21, the following documents were issued for the review of Bhutan: (a) A national report submitted/written presentation made in accordance with paragraph 15 (a) (A/HRC/WG.6/19/BTN/1); (b) A compilation prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in accordance with paragraph 15 (b) (A/HRC/WG.6/19/BTN/2); (c) A summary prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (c) (A/HRC/WG.6/19/BTN/3). 4. A list of questions prepared in advance by Germany, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was transmitted to Bhutan through the troika. Those questions are available on the extranet of the universal periodic review (UPR). I. Summary of the proceedings of the review process A. Presentation by the State under review 5. The head of the delegation of Bhutan reiterated the State’s unremitting commitment to further protecting and promoting the fundamental rights and freedoms of its people as enshrined in the Constitution. He added that many provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights had been incorporated into the Constitution and that they had immensely influenced provisions relating to human rights. 6. An example of the independence of the judiciary was the country’s first constitutional case, brought by the opposition against the Government in August 2010, in which the Supreme Court had ruled that the Government had erred in revising certain tax rates without following due legislative process. 7. As had been recommended during the previous UPR of Bhutan, the State had made concerted efforts to achieve the adoption of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, the Child Adoption Act and the Child Care and Protection Act. Those acts provided the necessary legal framework for the protection and promotion of women’s and children’s rights in accordance with the country’s national policies as well as its commitments under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, to which Bhutan was a party. The rules and regulations for the acts in question were being finalized. 3