GENEVA, Switzerland (CMC) — Trinidad and Tobago’s human rights record will be placed under the microscope by the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR), at a meeting scheduled for next Tuesday, May 10.

The twin-island republic is one of 14 states that will be reviewed by the working group of the UPR during its upcoming session.

The documents on which the reviews are based are the national report — which is information provided by the state that is under review; information contained in the reports of independent human rights experts and groups — known as the special procedures — human rights treaty bodies and other UN entities; and information provided by other stakeholders, including national human rights institutions, regional organisations and civil society groups.

Among issues to be raised are sexual and gender-based violence, combating human trafficking, sex trafficking and forced labour, the use of corporal punishment, high rates of violent crime, teenage pregnancies and the protection of refugees and asylum seekers.

The three country representatives serving as rapporteurs for the review of Trinidad and Tobago are Georgia, Kenya and Qatar. Trinidad and Tobago’s first UPR took place in 2011.

The UPR is a unique process which involves a periodic review of the human rights records of all 193 UN member states. Since its first meeting was held in April 2008, all UN member states have been reviewed during the first UPR cycle, and 168 thus far during the second cycle.

The second review of states aims to highlight human rights developments in the country since its first review and provides an opportunity for states under review to spell out steps taken to implement recommendations posed during their first reviews.