Who we are

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) is the leading United Nations entity to promote and protect all human rights for all people pursuant to General Assembly resolution A/RES/48/141. The United Nations human rights programme aims to ensure that the protection and enjoyment of human rights is a reality in the lives of all people. The Office provides assistance in the form of technical expertise and capacity-development in order to support the implementation of international human rights standards on the ground. It assists governments, which bear the primary responsibility for the protection of human rights, to fulfil their obligations and supports individuals to claim their rights. Moreover, it speaks out objectively on human rights violations. 

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) established its Regional Office in the Middle East and North Africa in 2002. The Regional Office is mandated to promote and protect human rights in the region for all, leading efforts, speaking out objectively in the face of human rights violations and providing a forum to identify, highlight and develop responses to today's human rights challenges.

The Regional Office, located in Beirut, Lebanon, currently covers 10 countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. OHCHR is implementing a technical cooperation programme in Saudi Arabia through a field presence based on a three-year agreement. 

Believing in action to protect and promote human rights as an inherent preventive power to foster efforts for sustainable peace, the Regional Office addresses root causes of unrest and conflicts and prioritizes normative frameworks that provide a sound basis for addressing issues of serious concern in a pre-emptive manner.