The UK-UAE Year of Culture 2017

2017 was declared a Year of Culture between the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

Throughout 2017, the British Council will collaborate with a wide range of British and Emirati partners to create a diverse programme of activities featuring events and projects in the arts, literature, education, society, sport, science and trade.

However, such event raises concerns whether issues related to human rights would be discussed between the two countries at official and Ministerial level during the 2017 UK-UAE Year of Culture.

Rights activists called for using the UK-UAE Year of Culture 2017 to call for real and meaningful change, not to sell weapons and legitimise the further concentration of powers and erosion of human rights.

The UAE has been widely criticised by numerous rights groups for violating basic and fundamental civil and political rights of individuals in the UAE.