Human rights in the Marshall Islands and chronic domestic violence" and other human rights problems included "child abuse, sex trafficking, and lack of legal provisions protecting workers' rights." As a member state of the United Nations the Marshall Islands is subject to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a process that involves a review of human rights records. By the time of its UPR in 2010, the Marshall Islands, among other states in the Asia Pacific, was reluctant to form a National Human Rights Institution despite recommendations for its establishment from the Human Rights Council. However, in 2015 the Marshall Islands passed legislation to set up a
Marshall Islands due to poor living conditions, lack of rain, or nuclear contamination. The uninhabited atolls are: The average altitude above sea level for the entire country is . In October 2011, the government declared that an area covering nearly of ocean shall be reserved as a shark sanctuary. This is the world's largest shark sanctuary, extending the worldwide ocean area in which sharks are protected from . In protected waters, all shark fishing is banned and all by-catch must be released. However, some have questioned the ability of the Marshall Islands to enforce this zone. The Marshall Islands also lays claim