ICFUAE's open letter to David Jones MP in response to his article celebrating UAE and UK relationship
Dear David Jones MP
I am writing to you in regards to your recent publication in ‘The National’, celebrating a ‘meeting of minds’ and an ‘economic relationship of great value to both countries’ after your visit to the United Arab Emirates. I was particularly shocked by your statement that ‘we share a set of values’ with the Emirati state. As a British citizen, I am ashamed, dismayed and, frankly, disturbed to hear a Member of Parliament celebrating an alliance with an authoritarian regime which is responsible for a multitude of brutal, systematic human rights violations and I beg you to reconsider your statement.
I assume that, in the duration of your visit to the UAE, the authorities failed to inform you of the numerous human rights violations documented by the UN and Amnesty International, amongst many other human rights organisations. To give you one, brief example: On 20th March 2017, internationally celebrated human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor was taken from his home in the middle of the night by 12 state security forces to an undisclosed location. One year later he has not been charged or been given a chance to defend himself in court, has not had access to a lawyer and has only been permitted two short, supervised family visits.
The authorities issued a statement saying he had been arrested for using his social media account to “publish false information that damages the country’s reputation” and to “spread hatred and sectarianism”. In reality, all that Ahmed is guilty of is raising awareness of the systematic human rights violations in his country. His detention has been declared ‘arbitrary’ by the United Nations Working Group for Arbitrary Detention, and multiple UN experts have called for his immediate release.
In fact Mansoor is but one case of many. Since 2012, the WGAD has declared 85 detentions of individuals in the UAE as ‘arbitrary’, and therefore in violation of international law. During the same period 37 actions were sent to the UAE by the United Nations Working Group for Enforced Disappearances. Are you seriously disregarding decisions issued by the highest level of governance that exists in terms of human rights? If so, this has incredibly disturbing implications for the United Kingdom’s respected stance on human rights internationally.
Additionally, you mention the UAE’s involvement in the conflict in Yemen, and suggest that the United Kingdom should ‘stand four-square behind one of our closest allies’. I would like to remind you of the humanitarian crises that has engulfed Yemen since the UAE's military intervention in the country. Since the onset of the conflict, the UN estimates that over 10,000 lives have been lost and up to seven million people have been placed on the brink of famine in one of the regions poorest countries.
UN reports have suggested that the UAE are committing war crimes in Yemen. Additionally, it was recently revealed that UAE forces have been running clandestine prisons where there have been numerous reports of extreme torture. It is disgraceful that you are using your position as an MP to condone and celebrate this sort of military action, rather than condemning it.
I urge you to reconsider your position in regards to the UAE. While I acknowledge that a strong trading bilateral relationship is beneficial to Britain, especially in the context of Brexit, applauding those who systematically violate international human rights law is certainly not in our nation’s interest. Brexit is an opportunity for Britain to redefine its reputation on the world stage; cosying up to repressive authoritarian regimes does not represent the Britain that I am proud to be a citizen of.
If you would like to arrange a meeting to discuss these issues further please do not hesitate to contact me. Please see the links pasted below for more information on Ahmed Mansoor's case.
Yours faithfully,
International Campaign for Freedom in the UAE
