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Standard Note: SNIA 6619 Last updated: 26 April 2013

Author: Tim Robinson and Ben Smith Section International Affairs and Defence Section

The oil-rich Gulf nation of United Arab Emirates has been in the news in recent years. A sales drive has almost landed a substantial contract to supply Eurofighter Tornadoes, amid heightened tensions with nearby Iran. But increased attention has also been focussed on the mass trial of activists accused of plotting a coup, and on the plight of migrant workers.

Contents

1 United Arab Emirates (UAE) 3

2 Gulf governments and the Arab Spring 5

3 Defence relations and Cameron visit 5

4 Oil 7

5 Nuclear power 7

6 Iran 7

7 Expats 8

8 Human rights 8 European Parliament 9 Further arrests 10

9 Migrant workers 13

10 Administrative divisions map 14

2 1 United Arab Emirates (UAE)

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a confederation of seven sheikhdoms comprising: , , Sharjah, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ajman, Fujairah and Ras al-Khaimah.

The UAE were formerly known as Trucial Oman or the and were under British protection until 1971 when six of the seven states agreed a federal constitution and proceeded to independence to form the UAE. In 1972 the last of the states, Ras al-Khaimah joined the UAE.

Abu Dhabi is by far the largest sheikdom by area, making up approximately 80% of the country, while the population of the UAE is concentrated in the emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the principal commercial regions of the country. The city of Abu Dhabi is also the capital of the UAE.

The Constitution

A provisional Constitution for the UAE took effect in December 1971. This laid the foundation for the federal structure of the Union of the seven emirates, previously known as the Trucial States.

The highest federal authority is the Supreme Council of Rulers, which comprises the Rulers of the seven emirates. It elects the President and Vice-President from among its members. The President appoints a Prime Minister and a Council of Ministers. Proposals submitted to the Council require the approval of at least five of the Rulers, including those of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The legislature is the Federal National Council (FNC), a consultative assembly comprising 40 members, of whom one-half are appointed by the emirates and the remainder are chosen by electoral colleges for a two-year term. A constitutional amendment extending the FNC’s term to four years was endorsed by the Supreme Council of Rulers in December 2008 and approved by the FNC in January 2009.

In July 1975 a committee was appointed to draft a permanent federal constitution, but the FNC decided in 1976 to extend the provisional document for five years. The provisional Constitution was extended for another five years in December 1981, and for further periods of five years in 1986 and 1991. In November 1976, however, the Supreme Council amended Article 142 of the provisional Constitution so that the authority to levy armed forces was placed exclusively under the control of the federal Government. Legislation designed to make the provisional Constitution permanent was endorsed by the FNC in June 1996, after it had been approved by the Supreme Council of Rulers.

Elections

Last election: Federal National Council (advisory, one-half of members elective), 24 September 2011

Next election: Federal National Council, due 2015

Government and Politics

Head of State: President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (Ruler of Abu Dhabi)

Vice-President: Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Ruler of Dubai)

3 Head of Government: Prime Minister Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Supreme Council of Rulers: (with each Ruler’s date of accession)

Ruler of Abu Dhabi: Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (2004).

Ruler of Dubai: Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum (2006).

Ruler of Sharjah: Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad al-Qasimi (1972).

Ruler of Ras al-Khaimah: Sheikh Saud bin Saqr al-Qasimi (2010).

Ruler of Umm al-Qaiwain: Sheikh Saud bin Rashid al-Mu`alla (2009).

Ruler of Ajman: Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid al-Nuaimi (1981).

Ruler of Fujairah: Sheikh Hamad bin Muhammad al-Sharqi (1974).

Council of Ministers (as of March 2013)

Prime Minister and Minister of Defence: Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior: Lt-Gen. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Minister of Finance: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Minister of Foreign Affairs: Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research: Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan.

Minister of Public Works: Abdullah bin Muhammad al-Nuaimi.

Minister of Economy: Sultan bin Said al-Mansouri.

Minister of Development and International Co-operation: Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid al- Qasimi.

Minister of Justice: Dr Hadif Jowan al-Dhahiri.

Minister of Energy: Suhail bin Muhammad al-Mazroui.

Minister of Labour: Saqr Ghobash Said Ghobash.

Minister of Social Affairs: Dr Mariam Muhammad Khalfan al-Roumi.

Minister of Education: Humaid Muhammad Obaid al-Qattami.

Minister of the Environment and Water: Dr Rashid Ahmad al-Fahd.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development: Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan.

4 Minister of Health: Abd al-Rahman bin Muhammad al-Owais.

Minister of Cabinet Affairs: Muhammad bin Abdullah al-Gargawi.

Minister of State for Financial Affairs: Obaid Humaid al-Tayer.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and for Federal National Council Affairs: Dr Anwar Muhammad Gargash.

Ministers of State: Reem Ibrahim al-Hashemi, Dr Maitha Salim al-Shamsi, Sultan Ahmad al-Jaber, Abdullah bin Muhammad Gobash.1

2 Gulf governments and the Arab Spring Relations between western governments and the Gulf monarchies have been strained ever since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt in 2011. As a Sunni president with good relations with the West, a ‘moderate’ attitude to Israel and an opponent of Islamist parties, the Gulf monarchs saw Mubarak, and Ben Ali of Tunisia, as allies and were dismayed when the US and other Western governments began to applaud the uprisings against them. Not only did they see this as a betrayal of an ally, they also felt that the West was indirectly encouraging unrest within the Gulf monarchies themselves. Some analysts have argued that Gulf monarchies such as the UAE have good reason to worry about uprisings.

The situation in Bahrain is the most pressing,2 as the Sunni monarchy there rules over a Shiite majority and this has been a driving force for the demonstrations in favour of democracy. Saudi Arabia and the UAE sent an unequivocal message of support for the Bahraini monarchy when they sent military forces to assist the Bahraini forces in keeping order in 2011.

3 Defence relations and Cameron visit In November 2012, David Cameron visited UAE to discuss the possible sale of perhaps 60 Eurofighter Typhoons and a closer defence relationship. The trip was also political, aiming to repair relations after controversies about human rights.

A statement issued on 7 November at the end of the visit, said that UAE and the UK would establish a new partnership, working together to:

• Deepen our defence ties by; continuing the development of our joint plans for the security of the UAE and wider Gulf region; increasing our joint exercises and training; and by investing in the British military presence in the UAE.

• Establish a defence industrial partnership that involves close collaboration around Typhoon and a number of new technologies.3

The Gulf monarchies are reported to have taken particular offence at the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee’s decision to hold an inquiry into the UK’s relationship with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain; the Saudi Ambassador to the UK said that this was an “insult”.4 In

1 The United Arab Emirates, in Europa World online. London, Routledge. House of Commons. Retrieved 24 April 2013 from http://www.europaworld.com/entry/ae.dir.18 2 For more information on Bahrain’s problems, see the Library note Bahrain: an update, May 2012 3 10 Downing Street, United Arab Emirates/UK Joint Communiqué, 6 November 2012 4 “Saudi Arabia 'insulted' by UK inquiry”, BBC News Online, 15 October 2012

5 language designed to resolve such difficulties, the communiqué also stressed mutual respect for sovereignty:

Our partnership is built on respect for each other’s sovereignty. Both countries have evolved their systems of governance, over time, to reflect their respective traditions and aspirations for the future.5

The proposed deal to sell scores of Typhoons is not in the bag, however. The UAE has also been in negotiation with the French over a possible sale of the Dassault Rafale.

Mr Cameron’s trip provoked some hostile comment, along the lines that to support uprisings in the Arab world and denounce the Russians for supporting the Assad government in Syria, while arming governments that act repressively to try to stop any similar uprising amounts to hypocrisy.6

The trip to the Gulf was not only about selling defence equipment. It was also about the “development of our joint plans for the security of the UAE and the wider Gulf region”, as the statement put it. This would imply a significant increase in the British military presence in the Gulf. The Government denies that this is in response to the perceived threat from Iran, although that looms very large in UAE and other Gulf States’ calculations.

Some commentators have expressed concern at the risks involved in making substantial commitments to particular governments in such a volatile region. It has also been argued that an increased British military presence might increase Iranian feelings of insecurity and make conflict more rather than less likely. The UAE’s physical location makes them particularly relevant to the Iran crisis and to Iran’s threat to close the Straits of Hormuz at the entrance to the Persian Gulf in the event of an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The Arabian side of the Straits of Hormuz is largely UAE coast and al-Fujairah, one of the poorer emirates in the federation, is located on the Indian Ocean outside the Persian Gulf.

The UK has had a close defence relationship with the UAE since before the current Iran crisis, however. The 1996 Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation was explained by the MoD in a recent parliamentary answer:

The Defence Co-Operation Accord signed between the UK and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1996 provides a framework for current and future defence engagement activity including training and capacity building in order to enhance the stability of the wider region. There are a number of short complementary agreements, for example relating to Ministry of Defence intellectual property. We have had a long- standing maritime presence off the UAE with continuous Royal Navy patrols in the Gulf since the 1980s protecting Britain's interests. We also regularly conduct joint air exercises with our Emirati counterparts.7

The MoD made a statement to the press denying that Typhoon deployments were anything to do with Iran:

The UK regularly deploys Typhoon to UAE as part of our routine exercise programme and to demonstrate our military commitment to UAE and the security of the wider region. We have a mutual interest with our GCC partners in ensuring peace and stability in the region, and exercises such as this allow us to practice working together.

5 Ibid. 6 “Our man in Manama; David Cameron’s Gulf trip”, Guardian, 6 November 2012 7 HC Deb 6 November 2012, c524W

6 These deployments are not due to our concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme. As we continue to make clear, the Government does not believe military action against Iran is the right course of action at this time, although no option is off the table.8

The UK already has a larger military commitment to the UAE than to any other non-NATO state, according to the UAE embassy in London.9 Again according to the embassy, more UAE citizens have studied at Sandhurst since 1974 than nationals of any other country apart from Britain and the UAE has five servicemen on loan to the UAE armed forces for training and advisory purposes.

4 Oil BP has had oil interests in UAE since before the country gained independence. The company’s Middle East headquarters is based in Abu Dhabi. The BP licence for a big onshore concession in Abu Dhabi is due for renewal in 2014 but BP has been excluded from the list of bidders. UAE officials are reported to have said that the exclusion is due to the policies of the British Government rather than any shortcomings at BP.10

5 Nuclear power In January 2008 UAE announced its intention to go ahead with a civil nuclear programme. The plan is for France to supply reactors to the country and to be allowed to open a base for some 500 troops in UAE as part of the deal. Significantly, UAE does not plan to enrich uranium but instead to import its nuclear fuel. A UAE official was quoted as saying:

If anything the fact that we're not enriching will embarrass the Iranians and make people ask whether enrichment is essential.11

6 Iran Sanctions against Iran have affected the UAE, and particularly one of the Emirates, Dubai. The sanctions which prevented access to the international financial system complicated Iranian sales, for example making the use of credit cards difficult. One way in which Iranian traders avoided this was to do their business through bank accounts in the UAE rather than Iranian bank accounts. The UAE, especially Dubai, have closed dozens of Iranian-held bank accounts and clamped down on money transfers to and from Iran, blocking that route for dodging the sanctions. The UAE have also closed down “dozens of international and local companies involved in money laundering and the trans-shipment of dual-use materials”, according to the UAE ambassador to the US.12 The fact that the UAE have stepped up cooperation with Security Council sanctions against Iran is significant. In the past, the Dubai trade route has frustrated several rounds of international sanctions.

UAE has a long-standing dispute with Iran over three disputed islands in the Straits of Hormuz. Abu Musa and the Tunbs have been occupied by Iranian forces since 1971. Bilateral talks between UAE and Iran in 1992 failed to bring a settlement, and attempts to bring the matter before the International Court of Justice have been refused by Iran, which considers that there is no case to answer and that the islands are an integral part of Iranian territory. During the Rafsanjani Iranian Presidency, considerable efforts were made to

8 “Exclusive: PM on standby to send warplanes to Gulf as Iranian tensions rise”, Independent, 2 November 2012 9 Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in London, UK-UAE Bilateral Relations 10 “BP excluded from UAE oilfield bid”, Guardian, 5 November 2012 11 “UAE set to launch nuclear programme”, Financial Times, 21 January 2008 12 “Dubai's Iranian traders feel heat of sanctions”, The National, 24 September 2010

7 improve relations with the Gulf States, but links with UAE did not improve much with this initiative, because of the dispute over the islands.

It was stated by Iran some years ago that chemical weapons are stored on the island. UAE is taking the suggestion seriously and has equipped its navy with nuclear, biological and chemical weapons protected reconnaissance vehicles.13 The Emirates have extended their general military and, particularly, naval capacity in recent years, with repercussions for their relations with Iran. In May 2007, however, President Ahmadinejad visited UAE, the first such visit by an Iranian President since the 1979 revolution.14

7 Expats There are estimated to be about 200,000 British citizens living in the UEA,15 and this has inevitably led to some controversies. One particularly high-profile case has been that of Peter Margetts, a property developer from London who wrote a cheque that subsequently bounced. Mr Margetts was originally sentenced to 46 years in prison, although this was later reduced.16 Nevertheless, he went on hunger strike with a number of other imprisoned businessmen. Failing to honour a cheque is a criminal offence in the UAE, whereas it is likely to be treated as a civil offence in the UK and most Western countries.

In October 2012, a British woman and an Irish man were accused of “breach of honour with consent”, “committing an indecent act in a taxi” and consuming alcohol in public. They were sentenced to three months in prison, deportation on release and a fine of 5000 dirhams each.17

8 Human rights After unrest across the region in 2011, the Emirati government attempted to stave off rebellion and uprisings by giving large pension increases to members of the armed forces and by subsidising bread and rice for its citizens. In February 2012 the government announced plans to increase the number of people that will be eligible to vote in the second national election for the 20 seats of the 40-member Federal National Council that are elected (the other 20 seats will continue to be appointed).18

However, the US organisation Human Rights Watch notes that there have been sticks as well as carrots:

United Arab Emirates authorities have cracked down on peaceful demonstrations since the Arab Spring. They have arrested some activists, stripped others of their citizenship, and disbanded the elected boards of civil society organizations. In July, the Emirates deported to Thailand a prominent Bidun [Bedouin] activist, who was born in the UAE, after threatening him with indefinite detention if he stayed. The Emirates has nearly 4 million migrant workers, and across the UAE many have their pay withheld or their passports confiscated. Some progress has been made on the protection of workers'

13 “Chemical weapons on Abu Musa?”, Gulf States Newsletter, 8 June 2007 14 For more on relations between the Gulf states and Iran, see the Library Standard Note Iran's relations with the Gulf States, January 2008 15 “Brits are still basking in the heat of a thriving economy in Gulf states”, Independent on Sunday, 10 November 2012 16 “Hunger strike Briton in Dubai 'has stroke'”, Daily Telegraph, 11 June 2012 17 ”British businesswoman jailed for three months in Dubai over sex in taxi claims”, Daily Telegraph, 22 October 2012 18 Amnesty international, United Arab Emirate Country Report, [visited 9 November 2012]

8 rights on Saadiyat Island, a high-profile development and construction zone. The country's female domestic workers remain acutely vulnerable to grave abuse.19

The largest civil society organisation in the UAE is the Jamiat al-Islah wa Tawjih (Association for Reform and Guidance), which was awarded a licence to operate in 1974. al-Islah enjoyed a good relationship with government for more than 20 years – its chairman is Sheikh Sultan Bin Kayed Al-Qassimi from the Ras Al-Khaimah (RAK) ruling family - until the authorities linked them with the and political Islam.20 Since 1994 al-Islah members have been subjected to a wide range of sanctions and crackdowns, including being removed from positions of influence in the public sector.

In March 2011, because of the crackdowns, a petition was presented to the president by activists from across the political spectrum, including al-Islah, demanding that the Federal National Council be fully elected and that all UAE nationals be allowed to vote.

On 2 October 2012, Said Nasser al-Teniji, an activist and director of al-Islah from 2004 until 2012, wrote an article in the Guardian, criticising the authorities’ response to the petition:

The reaction was fierce and disproportionate for, lest we forget, this was at the height of the Arab spring and the regimes of Tunisia and Egypt had collapsed, causing great concern within authority ranks. Five of the signatories to the petition, all liberals, were arrested in May 2011. Together with those alleged to be behind the petition, the five were targeted in a relentless smear campaign and ultimately sentenced to three years in jail, only to receive a presidential pardon in December.21

This article caused diplomatic friction between the UK and the UAE not only because of its anti-government stance but also because of the publicity it generated for al-Islah – so much so that the British government had to deny that it had any control over the press.22

However, Ali Rashid al-Noami, an academic and ex-member of the al-Islah movement, argues that the arrests were not linked to the petition:

When five signatories of the petition were subsequently arrested in May 2011, it was claimed by al-Islah and its supporters overseas that their arrest was linked to their signature of the petition. In fact, the five people were arrested for offenses under the criminal code. Yet they were presented as "human rights defenders" and as people who were simply seeking modest political reform.

Importantly, the overwhelming majority of the 130 or so people who signed the petition continue to pursue their lives normally, including civil servants, university professors, journalists and the like. They and others have continued to advocate change in terms of political reform, and it is worth noting that the number of voters for the UAE’s partially elected parliament was dramatically increased from around 6,000 to nearly 120,000 in the fall of 2011, as part of a process of government-supported gradualist change. More change lies ahead.23

European Parliament In October 2012 the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the deteriorating human rights situation in the UAE. The resolution:

19 Human Rights Watch, Human Rights in the United Arab Emirates, [visited 9 November 2012] 20 “Setting the record straight on al-Islah in the UAE”, AL-Monitor, 15 October 2012 21 “The UAE's descent into oppression”, Guardian, 2 October 2012 22 Britain and the Gulf States, RUSI Analysis, 7 November 2012 23 “Setting the record straight on al-Islah in the UAE”, AL-Monitor, 15 October 2012

9 • Expresses great concern about assaults, repression and intimidation against human rights defenders, political activists and civil society actors within the United Arab Emirates who peacefully exercise their basic rights to freedom of expression, opinion, and assembly;

• Calls on the authorities of the United Arab Emirates to halt the ongoing crackdowns immediately;

• Calls for the unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience and activists, including human rights defenders;

• Calls on the authorities of the United Arab Emirates to conduct thorough and impartial investigations into the assaults and public threats made against [prominent human rights defender] Ahmed Mansoor, and all the other cases of harassment and assault.24

In a letter to the European Parliament’s members, the UAE’s Ambassador to the EU and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, said that the resolution could “needlessly damage EU-UAE relations”. He described it as a:

...biased and prejudiced resolution which throws accusations haphazardly without substantiating facts on the ground and purposely overlooks the milestones made by the UAE and endorsed by the relevant international organisations, particularly in the areas of foreign labour, comprehensive social care and women’s empowerment, and the fact that the UAE represents a society of people of over 200 different nationalities who co-exist in an atmosphere of openness and tolerance.25

When asked what representations the British government have made to the UAE government about the human rights and the arrest of political opponents, Baroness Warsi said:

We raise these issues with the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a regular basis, in the context of a strong and frank relationship. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) discussed these issues during his most recent visit for the UK-United Arab Emirates (UAE) Taskforce on 17 September, as did Sir Kim Darroch (National Security Adviser) during his visit to the UAE on 12 September. Both sought and received assurances that those arrested are treated in accordance with UAE law and are subject to due legal process.26

Further arrests Despite this continuing international pressure, 94 people were arrested, most in the summer of 2012, for alleged involvement with al-Islah, including its chairman Sheikh Sultan Bin Kayed Al-Qassimi from the Ras al-Khaimah (RAK) ruling family, without any charges against them being made. A further twelve people were arrested in April and March of this year bringing the total to 106 defendants.27 The Arabic international newspaper, Asharq Al-Awsat has

24 European Parliament resolution of 26 October 2012 on the human rights situation in the United Arab Emirates (2012/2842(RSP) 25 “EU human rights report biased and ill-informed, says UAE minister”, Gulf News.com, 27 October 2012 26 HL Deb, 5 November 2012, c190WA 27 “Number of defendants swells to 106 in Al-Islah trial”, Gulf States Newsletter, 11 April 2013

10 reported that two Kuwaitis are among those detained, with the Kuwaiti prime minister fully supporting the UAE in its actions.28

The UAE’s crackdown on al-Islah and other Muslim Brotherhood activity is also causing relations with Egypt to sour as the detainees also include 11 Egyptians. Gulf News reports that the men have been accused of trying to obtain sensitive military data and of having links with Emiratis currently in detention on charges of plans to destabilise national security.29

A coalition of seven human rights organisations, documents that at least 64 of those arrested were kept in undisclosed locations across the UAE without any access to legal advice and that eight of the arrested will be tried in absentia. All could face prison sentences of up to 15 years for violating article 180 of the penal code which forbids and prohibits founding, organizing, or operating a group that aims to overthrow the country’s political system.30

The state news agency published a statement from the attorney general, Salem Saeed Kubaish in which he outlined the investigations that had taken place by the Public Prosecution against those arrested. These included allegations that they had:

• launched, established and run an organisation seeking to oppose the basic principles of the UAE system of governance and to seize power. This was planned in secret meetings and under the cover of teaching about Islam;

• built a secret organisational structure and through it took actions whose initial aim was to turn public opinion against the state;

• spread lies about the government through members, the media and social networking sites online;

• communicated with international and foreign entities to distort the state’s image, and provided the latter with inaccurate information to get international public opinion to put pressure on the government, and weaken its foreign relationships; and

• communicated with the international Muslim Brotherhood and other similar organisations based outside the UAE, asking them for help, expertise and financial support to serve their undeclared goal of seizing power.31

The Attorney General announced in January 2013 that the accused would be referred to the Federal Supreme Court and the trial would start in March 2013. Observers have argued that this announcement was made in order to keep international allies on board as the following day the UAE faced its Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations Human Rights Council, where it has been criticised for human rights abuses and holding detainees without trial.32

The trial is now underway and there have been several hearings already. However, a coalition of human rights organisations - Alkarama, Amnesty International, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, and the International Federation for Human

28 ibid 29 “UAE rejects Mursi’s request to free Muslim Brotherhood cell 'leaders'”, Gulf News.com, 4 January 2013 30 Amnesty International joint public statement, UAE: Unfair Mass Trial of 94 Dissidents, 3 April 2013 31 “UAE to try 94 people linked to Al-Islah” , Gulf States Newsletter, 7 February 2013 32 “UAE to try 94 people linked to Al-Islah” , Gulf States Newsletter, 7 February 2013

11 Rights - has said that the court has not investigated the credible allegations that some of the defendants had been tortured whilst in captivity.33

There is also concern that representatives from some human rights organisations have been denied access to the UAE - an observer from Amnesty International and one from Alkarama, a Swiss-based organisation, were refused entry, whilst those that did manage to enter have reported that the authorities have denied independent observers, family members and the international media access to the trials.34

On 21 March 2013 Abdulla al-Hadidi, the son of one of the defendants was arrested for publishing in bad faith, false details of the public trial session on social media sites. On 28 March he was charged and is still in prison, having been refused bail.35 To many observers it looks as if al-Hadidi’s detention was another attempt by the authorities to prevent scrutiny of the trial process.

The UAE is party to the Arab Charter on Human Rights, which states in article 13.2 that:

Trials shall be public, except in exceptional cases that may be warranted by the interests of justice in a society that respects human freedoms and rights.

Human Rights Watch also reports well-informed sources who say that lawyers and defendants have not had adequate time to question witnesses and that the judge on at least one occasion intervened to prevent the court registrar from officially noting potentially exculpatory testimony in the official record of proceedings. The sources also said that the judge denied a request from one of the defence lawyers to investigate the alleged forgery of some of the detainees’ signatures on documents submitted by the prosecution.36

The Arab Charter on Human Rights article 13.1 states that:

Everyone has the right to a fair trial that affords adequate guarantees before a competent, independent and impartial court that has been constituted by law to hear any criminal charge against him or to decide on his rights or his obligations. Each State party shall guarantee to those without the requisite financial resources legal aid to enable them to defend their rights.

The seven human rights organisations have therefore urged the UAE to:

• Clarify the charges and to strike down any charges that relate solely to the free peaceful expression of political opinion or free association;

• Grant access to the proceedings to the public, including family members, the international media and independent monitors;

• Provide independent forensic medical examinations to defendants who say they have been tortured;

• Exclude any evidence obtained by torture from the trial;

• Ensure prompt, independent, and impartial investigations into allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearances, and other serious human

33 Human Rights Watch, UAE: Unfair mass trial of 94 dissidents, [visited 25 April 2013] 34 Amnesty International joint public statement, UAE: Unfair Mass Trial of 94 Dissidents, 3 April 2013 35 Human Rights Watch, UAE: Unfair mass trial of 94 dissidents, [visited 25 April 2013] 36 ibid

12 rights violations and bring suspected perpetrators to justice in proceedings that comply with international fair trial standards; and

• Ensure that victims of torture, enforced disappearance, and arbitrary detention receive full reparations.

Ann Harrison, Amnesty International’s deputy Middle East and North Africa director said:

When the UAE was elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council in November, it promised to uphold the highest standards in promoting and protecting human rights, but the authorities’ handling of this trial raises troubling questions about the UAE’s commitment to holding fair trials and respecting other fundamental human rights standards.37

9 Migrant workers Migrant workers make up around 90% of the resident population38 of the UAE and those from Southeast Asia contribute approximately 40% to this figure.39 The majority of male migrants, the bulk of whom are from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, work in the construction industry, whilst many women are employed as domestic staff. Amnesty International notes that:

Foreign migrant workers were inadequately protected against exploitation and abuse by their employers. In February, it was reported that migrants who had lost their jobs in the construction industry were stranded in the UAE because their employer had not paid them or still held their passports. Many were living in abject conditions in labour camps.

Foreign women employed as domestic workers were particularly vulnerable; many were reported to work long hours for little pay and to be abused by employers or their sponsors in the UAE. A government report issued in September stated that at least 900 domestic workers who had fled the residences of their sponsors had been detained by the authorities in Dubai in the previous eight months.

In December, the International Trade Union Confederation criticized the UAE’s Labour Law for not permitting trade unions to exist or to function freely; for denying the right to collective bargaining and to strike; and for giving the Labour Minister the power to unilaterally end strikes and force people back to work.40

The situation of thousands of migrants working on the construction of new tourist facilities on the island of Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi has been well documented by human rights organisations. In its 2009 report “The Island of Happiness: exploitation of migrant workers on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi”, Human Rights Watch documented the exploitation of migrant workers on the island and the lack of legal and institutional protections, urging the developers and institutions to do something about the abuses:

The UAE government has addressed a number of issues affecting the lives of migrant workers, including attempts to improve housing conditions and access to health care. And TDIC [Tourism Development & Investment Company, the major developer] also has sought to ensure that its contractors address some of these issues as well, by contractually requiring employers to affirm that they do not engage in or support the

37 Amnesty International joint public statement, ‘UAE: Unfair Mass Trial of 94 Dissidents’, 3 April 2013 38 Human Rights Watch, United Arab Emirates, 2006 39 ‘UAE workforce includes large number of workers from India, conference told’, Daily Commercial News and Construction Record, 26 June 2008 40 Amnesty international, United Arab Emirates, [visited 13 November 2012]

13 use of forced labor, require employees to surrender passports, or withhold wages from employees. Despite these affirmations, abuses continue, as the reforms have failed to address the fundamental sources of worker exploitation – employee-paid recruiting fees; visas controlled by employers; very low wages often far below what was promised workers in their home countries; and restrictions on organizing and no real access to legal remedies. As a result, the abuse of workers remains commonplace.41

HRW looked again at the situation in March 2012 and said that there had been some “notable improvements” but said that they would “still have to do more to curtail the abuses”:

...commitments by leading educational and cultural bodies and their UAE development partners to ensure regular payment of wages, rest breaks and days off, and employer- paid medical insurance, and to hire independent monitors to detect and report publicly on violations of workers’ rights on the island. However, the progress report also found that many workers are still paying recruitment fees to obtain jobs, which frequently trap them in debt.42

10 Administrative divisions map

Map courtesy of the University of Texas

41 Human Rights Watch, “The Island of Happiness: exploitation of migrant workers on Saadiyat Island”, 2009. 42 Human Rights Watch, “The Island of Happiness Revisited: A progress report on institutional commitments to address abuses of migrant workers on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island, 2012

14