The latest news on UAE campaigns

The ICFUAE supports political activism and democratic reform in the UAE. We’ll be following all developments in the UAE and be bringing you the latest updates in our newsletter.

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Suwaidi sisters released but freedom of speech continues to be repressed

When the sisters of prisoner of conscience were abducted by the UAE authorities in February, many human rights campaigners and activists were concerned by this latest development. With the UAE increasing the climate of fear in the UAE, relatives of political prisoners and human rights activists are finding themselves increasingly bearing the brunt of the authorities’ political repression. In the case of the Suwaidi sisters, they were detained after calling for the release of their brother Dr Issa Khalifa Al Suwaidi on Twitter.

As their disappearance approached three months, the sisters although there was no  information released by the UAE authorities. Although the sisters were released, freedom of speech continues to face challenges in the UAE. At the end of May, Ahmad Abdullah Al Wahdi was arrested by the UAE authorities for “insulting rulers” on Twitter. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The use of social media is remains increasingly problematic for activists in the UAE as authorities continue their crackdown.

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The EU builds closer ties with UAE but this must not come at the expense of human rights

In May the European Union announced that the United Arab Emirates would be welcomed into the Schengen Visa program, which waives the need for visas for Emirati citizens travelling to European Union member states. Welcoming the UAE into the programme has been seen by some as diplomatic coup for the Gulf state. What is concerning is the apparent lack of concern for human rights violations in the UAE despite the EU commitment to human rights. In 2012 the EU passed a resolution in response to concerns raised by leading human rights organisations about alleged abuses. The resolution came in the wake of the UAE 94 trial.

The EU has stated that it has a strong commitment to human rights and is a priority of much of the EU’s work. Yet by signing this most recent visa waiver agreement the EU appear to be shirking their commitment to human rights in favour of better business opportunities between the EU and the UAE.

Meanwhile, the EU-UAE human rights working group met in Abu Dhabi in late May. There were official announcements of the meeting, but information about the issues raised has yet to be released. It is hoped that as part of this working group the EU must insist that the UAE address the issues of continued internal repression, imprisonment of political prisoners, the use of solitary confinement, the poor conditions of prisons, the reported use of torture of prisoners.

Not all international visitors are welcome in the UAE 

Although the UAE might be a beacon of tourism for the Middle East, it seems that not all international visitors are being welcomed to the country. In recent weeks two significant entry denials have turned the spotlight on the UAE’s approach to any international criticism. Artist Walid Raad, part of the Gulf Labor group who have been working to draw attention to human rights concerns through creative means, was denied entry to the UAE on “security grounds”. In an open letter, Raad explained “My denial of entry followed NYU Professor Andrew Ross’ in March 2015, and widely exhibited artist Ashok Sukumaran’s visa being denied in May 2015, both also under the banner of “security.” We are all members of Gulf Labor. We have all spoken publicly about labor conditions in the Gulf, especially with regards to the building of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (but also the Louvre, NYU, and other cultural institutions on Saadiyat Island). We have done so peacefully and constructively.”

The denial of Raad’s entry has been followed by a similar move, denying entry to Amnesty International’s Acting Head of Business and Human Rights, James Lynch. Lynch arrived in Dubai only to be told that he too was being denied entry on grounds of “security”.  Amnesty International have raised numerous concerns about human rights violations in the country and highlighted the authroities attempt to silence dissent in the country. Deputy Director of North Africa and Middle East program at Amnesty, Said Boumedouha asked “what is the UAE so desperately trying to hide? This shocking move will only further damage the country’s reputation, one they are so keen to protect.”

Freedom House report finds that the UAE is “not free”

Freedom House’s report, “Discarding Democracy: A Return to the Iron Fist”, revealed its findings to show that there had been a decline in global freedoms. The report is the organisation’s annual report which analyses political rights and civil liberties across the world.  The report concluded that there had been an overall decline in its ninth consecutive year.The report found that the ratings for the Middle East and North Africa were the worst in the world. On the UAE Freedom House noted that “little attention was paid to the systematic denial of rights for foreign workers”.

The Freedom House report gives countries a rating out of 7 – the United Arab Emirates scored 6. In 2014, the UAE had been awarded the same score of 6 for freedom, political rights and civil liberties. Other GCC countries also received poor ratings with Saudi Arabia receiving 7 and Bahrain 6.5.

The Freedom House report came in the wake of a report by Al-Bab which noted that the International Human Rights Rank Indicator league table had disappeared, after least year placing the UAE 12th in the world for its human rights record. Al-Bab reported that the IHHR is organised by the Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) which has close links the UAE.

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