Research Staff, Author at Demokratiezentrum für Transparenz

Communications Officer
lpearson@transparency.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","post_title":"Under the influence: call for an investigation in the European Parliament","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"under-the-influence-call-for-an-investigation-in-the-european-parliament","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-02-02 08:39:40","post_modified_gmt":"2025-02-02 08:39:40","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=2816","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":2450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2018-07-30 19:38:40","post_date_gmt":"2018-07-30 19:38:40","post_content":"A report by Democracy Centre For Transparency (DCT)\u00a0 published a unique report to examine UAE Human Rights Record & the requirements of EU Visa Waiver<\/a>. The report concluded that EU has long advocated an approach based on promoting, protecting and respecting human rights\r\nthat was reflected in its domestic as well as foreign policy. This approach has been part of the texts of\r\nagreements that the EU has signed over the years where a phrase regarding observing human rights\r\nhas always been there.\r\n\r\nDCT argued that despite the EU\u2019s commitment to human rights, including having dialogues with countries that have a bad record of human rights violations, the Union has signed agreements with countries that have a bad record of human rights violations such as the UAE for economic and political considerations. The EU needs to affirm its human rights stance by reconsidering agreements signed with other countries that have a record of human rights violations.\r\n\r\nThe UAE has a very negative record to mistreating migrant workers, torturing political prisoners at home\r\nand abroad, suppressing freedom of expression, human trafficking and intervening in other countries\r\ncausing further human rights violations such as in Yemen. The UAE\u2019s involvement in Yemen has led\r\nto documented 87 human rights violations, some of Conclusion which amount to war crimes, which claimed the lives of some 1,000 civilians. The UAE\u2019s intervention in other countries have put an end to or threatened democratic regimes such as in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.\r\n\r\nFor the above-reasons, and in line with the EU-human rights approach, the EU is urged to reconsider\r\nits visa-waiver program with the UAE until it complies by protecting and promoting human rights. By doing so, the EU proves once again that its commitment to human rights is serious and comprehensive.\r\n\r\nThe report offered a set of the following recommendations:\r\n\r\n1. The EU should reconsider its visa waiver program with the UAE due to the country\u2019s involvement in\r\nvarious human and financial crimes at home and abroad that resulted in the death of 1,000 civilians\r\nat least.\r\n\r\n2. The EU should establish a monitoring body that monitor the activities of governments that have\r\npartnership agreements with the EU to make sure human rights are protected and respected.\r\n\r\n3. The EU should not separate between its own human rights values and that of its partners as such a\r\nbehavior undermines the credibility of the EU as an advocate of human rights globally.\r\n\r\n4. The UAE should adopt a comprehensive human rights approach that protect the rights of all people\r\nregardless of sex, age, race, religion or social status. Being a business hub does not save the country\r\nthe responsibility over human rights violations.\r\n\r\n5. The EU should make sure that its partners, including the UAE, act according to its general foreign policy outlines, such as the situation in Yemen, where the UAE is accused of committing war crimes.\r\n\r\n6. The EU should re-blacklist the UAE as a haven for tax as the country is heavily involved in tax evasion, where drug trade and modern-day slavery are still practiced.\r\n\r\n7. The EU should make sure the UAE stops human trafficking and modern slavery on its soil or abroad,\r\nespecially in Libya, where thousands of migrants are exploited on their way to the EU via the sea.\r\n\r\n8. The EU should pass legislations that ensure the protection of women rights by partner countries including the UAE, where women still need the approval of their husbands to get a job.\r\n\r\n9. The UAE should give political opposition the platform to express their opinion without fear and\r\nshould release all human rights defenders from jails, where wide-spread torture was reported.\r\n\r\n10.The UAE should release all political prisoners in prisons run by it in Yemen, including prohibiting\r\ntorture at home or outside. The EU should actively be engaged with the UAE to make sure no violations\r\nagainst civilians are committed by the UAE in Yemen.\r\n\r\n11.The EU should conduct visits to construction and prison facilities in the UAE where migrant workers\r\nlive dire conditions and some of them get deported illegally over differences with their employers of\r\nattempting to demand their own rights due to the sponsorship system.\r\n\r\n12. NGOs and civil society in the EU should play a greater role in making sure EU partners don\u2019t commit\r\nviolations or crimes that contradict the values of the EU.","post_title":"New Report: How the United Arab Emirates Disqualified from EU Visa Waiver","post_excerpt":"An Examination of UAE Human Rights Record & the requirements of EU Visa Waiver\r\n","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"new-report-how-the-united-arab-emirates-disqualified-from-eu-visa-waiver","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-02-02 08:39:40","post_modified_gmt":"2025-02-02 08:39:40","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=2450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"168","filter":"raw"},{"ID":2444,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2018-07-24 23:03:32","post_date_gmt":"2018-07-24 23:03:32","post_content":"The United Arab Emirates has been involved in different forms of human rights violations, including violations against its own nationals as well as nationals of other countries. These violations are in contrast violation of the principles of the EU\u2019s commitment to human rights, including the EU Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of The European Union. Examples of these violations include but are not limited to violations against workers, freedom of expression, torture, right to work, right to education, right to life, and right to liberty.\r\n

\r\n \t

Modern Day Slavery<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nWhen examining modern day slavery, especially in relation to Libya, the UAE is found to be playing a major role in funding criminal networks. Due to its role in slavery in Libya, a protest took place against the UAE in the UK by activists from African Lives Matter and the International Campaign to Boycott the UAE.[1]<\/a>\r\n\r\nThis modern day slavery includes the exploitation of children (sometimes as young as five years old) as camel jockeys; the sexual enslavement of women; and the migrant workers who enslave themselves.[2]<\/a>\r\n
\r\n \t
Workers\u2019 Rights Violations<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nHuman Rights Watch noted that abuses against workers in the UAE continue to persist, where migrant construction workers serious exploitation. Despite the UAE\u2019s adoption of a law that gives workers some of their human rights for the first-time last year, the provisions of this law are weaker than those provided for workers in other countries.[3]<\/a>\r\n\r\nThese violations also include the arrest and deportation of foreign workers after they demanded their rights. A report emerged in 2014 that revealed the deportation of foreign workers after they went on a strike demanding their rights and calling for improving their work conditions in Abu Dhabi, which hosts the campus of New York University and the GuggenheimMuseum sites. \u201cIn addition to being barred from conducting strikes or forming unions, foreign workers in the UAE are forced to pay fees of up to a year\u2019s wages to recruiters, surrender their passports to their sponsors, live in overcrowded and substandard housing, and work exceedingly long hours in difficult conditions.\u201d [4]<\/a>\r\n\r\nMigrant workers, who make the vast majority of workers in the UAE, continue to face violations under the Kafala<\/em> sponsorship system, where they remain at the mercy of their employers. Workers are vulnerable to employers accusing them of \u201cfailing to protect their employer\u2019s secrets\u201d, which carry fines of up to USD27,225 or a six-month prison sentence.[5]<\/a>\r\n\r\nAccording to the Euro-Med for Human Rights Monitor, the UAE\u2019s authorities have deprived some Qatar nationals of their right to work and education in the UAE, following the diplomatic crisis that erupted out between Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in 2017, which resulted in human rights violations against Qatari nationals for political reasons and based on the passport they hold.[6]<\/a>\r\n
\r\n \t
Ill-treatment and forcible deportation of expatriates<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThe UAE has deported some 50 Syrian families, accusing them of having links with Qatar, following the Gulf diplomatic crisis that broke out in 2017. According to the Euro-Med for Human Rights Monitor, \u201cThe UAE has previously, repeatedly and forcibly deported many Syrian families residing on its territory; however, this most recent issuance of deportation of Syrian families has been the largest mass deportation conducted. The UAE security authorities informed Syrian families that they were \"unwelcome individuals on Emirati soil\" giving them a 24-hour period to leave the country.\u201d[7]<\/a>\r\n
\r\n \t
Freedom of Expression<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nA recent report published by Human Rights Watch has revealed a wide range of human rights violations the UAE is involved in at home and abroad. From detaining people who express freedom of expression, such as Ahmed Mansoor. \u201cThe government and the many public relations firms it pays try to paint the UAE as a modern, reform-oriented country. This rosy vision will remain fiction so long as the UAE refuses to release the activists, journalists, and critics it has unjustly jailed, like Ahmed Mansoor,\u201d said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.[8]<\/a>\r\n\r\nA prominent UAE national and academic was jailed for 10 years over a tweet. In March 2017, Dr Nasser bin Ghaithwas convicted at the Federal Appeal Court in Abu Dhabi. According to Amnesty International, \u201cDr Nasser bin Ghaith was convicted for \u201cposting false information\u201d about UAE leaders and their policies and \u201cposting false information in order to harm the reputation and stature of the State and one of its institutions\u201d based on comments he made on Twitter stating that he had not been given a fair trial in an earlier case known as the \u201cUAE 5\u201d, in which he and four other Emiratis where prosecuted on charges of \u201cpublicly insulting\u201d the countries\u2019 leaders over comments posted online. He can appeal the sentence within 30 days, before the State Security Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court.\u201d [9]<\/a>\r\n
\r\n \t
Torture<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThese violations by the UAE extended to torture in domestic jails as letters smuggled by detainees there have revealed. Human Rights Watch has obtained 22 statements written by 94 people on trial of alleged attempt to overthrow the government. \u201cI was beaten with a plastic tube all over my body,\u201d one detainee said. \u201cI was tied to a chair and threatened with electrocution if I didn\u2019t talk. I was insulted and humiliated.\u201d[10]<\/a>\r\n\r\nAccording to Amnesty, \u201cAuthorities continued to arbitrarily restrict freedoms of expression and association, using the Penal Code and anti-terrorism and cybercrime laws that criminalized peaceful criticism of state policies or officials.\u201d [11]<\/a>Some 13 people were arrested or tried for this reason. The government of the UAE announced the creation of the Federal Public Prosecution for Information Technology Crimes, whose mandate to investigate and prosecute crimes included peaceful expression.[12]<\/a> Detainees in al-Razeen Prison in Abu Dhabi, including Imran al-Radwan, went on an open-ended hunger strike to protest their ill-treatment and sexual harassment as report by Amnesty International.\r\n\r\nThe UAE\u2019s continues to hand over death sentences which contradicts the EU\u2019s approach on capital punishment. According to Amnesty International, the UAE continues to hand over death sentences including one which was pronounced on 23 November 2017. Despite calls to abolish capital punishment, the UAE still hands over sentences and refuses to resort to long-term imprisonment as an alternative.[13]<\/a>\r\n
\r\n \t
War on Yemen<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThe UAE is a member in the Saudi-led coalition against Houthi forces in Yemen. Human Rights Watch has documented some 87 unlawful attack carried out by the coalition, some of which mount to war crimes, which have claimed the lives of nearly 1,000 civilians.\u00a0 The UAE has also supported armed groups that have been involved in human rights violations in Southern Yemen. According to HRW, \u201cThe UAE operates at least two informal detention facilities in Yemen. Its officials appear to have ordered the continued detention of people held there despite release orders, as well as forcibly disappearing people, and moving high-profile detainees outside the country.\u201d Family members and former detainees have reported cases of torture and forced disappearance in these detention facilities.[14]<\/a>\r\n
\r\n \t
Women Rights<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nThe UAE continues to discriminate against people based on their sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation. In August 2017, two nationals from Singapore were deported and fined \u201cfor attempting to resemble women.\u201d[15]<\/a> The UAE\u2019s violations of human rights is not limited to home, but also includes a wide range of violations abroad.\r\n\r\nDespite claims by the UAE of respecting women\u2019s rights, a close look at the UAE laws reveals a serious violation of women\u2019s rights. The UAE Personal Status Law gives the husband the right to the \u201cwillful obedience\u201d of his wife, where it is the responsibility of wives only to look after the house and raises the children. Being disobedient means in these terms, for example, a woman working without her husband\u2019s approval. Moreover, women only have a right to custody until their children turn 13 and 11, for girls and boys.[16]<\/a>\r\n
\r\n \t
Arrests of European citizens<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nArresting European Citizens in the UAE was reported on several occasions. A Scottish man named Jamie Harron, who was on a visit to Dubai, was arrested for touching a man in a bar, as reported by the New York Times. \u201cThe British head of a professional soccer team, David Haigh, was ordered jailed for seven months for a tweet that he says could not have been from him \u2014 since he was already in jail without a phone,\u201d the newspaper noted. Speaking of this, Judge Ahmad Saif, head of the Dubai civil court, said in a recent interview with The National, a newspaper based in Abu Dhabi:\u201cWesterners\u2019 culture differs from Arab culture.\u201d[17]<\/a>\r\n
\r\n \t
Human Trafficking <\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nHuman trafficking has been reported in the UAE as well. In June 2017, \u201ca Belgian court convicted in their absence eight women from Abu Dhabi\u2019s ruling Al Nahyan family of trafficking in persons and of the degrading treatment of up to 23 women domestic workers,\u201d as reported by Amnesty International.[18]<\/a> The court asked the convicts to pay \u00a3145,000 fine in long-standing human trafficking case.\r\n\r\nThis year, Sharjah Prosecution charged the man with human trafficking. The case is involving begging by an Asian national who affected 15 male victims.Over 3,000 distressed Filipinoswere repatriated by the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Philippine Consulate General in Dubai last year \u2013 all victims of human traffickers.\r\n\r\n [1]<\/a>Tom Charles, \u201cA note to UAE: African Lives Matter,\u201d the New Arab, 30 January 2018, last accessed on 20 July 2018, link https:\/\/www.alaraby.co.uk\/english\/comment\/2018\/1\/31\/a-note-to-uae-african-lives-matter<\/a>\r\n\r\n [2]<\/a>Barbara Degorge, \u201cModern Day Slavery in the United Arab Emirates,\u201d The European Legacy, 2006, 11:6, 657-666, DOI: 10.1080\/10848770600918307\r\n\r\n [3]<\/a>Ibid.\r\n\r\n [4]<\/a>Michael Dickison, \u201cStagnant wages dash hopes of UAE migrants,\u201d Al Jazeera, 12 May 2014, accessed on 20 July 2018, link: http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/middleeast\/2014\/02\/stagnant-wages-dash-hopes-uae-migrants-201422414312319248.html<\/a>.\r\n\r\n [5]<\/a>Ibid.\r\n\r\n [6]<\/a>The Euro-Med for Human Rights Monitor, Letters received by the human rights organization. Geneva, 15 March, 2018.\r\n\r\n [7]<\/a>Euro-Med for Human Rights, \u201cUAE carries out forcible deportation of Syrian families,\u201d Press Release, 15 October 2017, last accessed on 20 July 2018, link https:\/\/euromedmonitor.org\/en\/article\/2108\/UAE-carries-out-forcible-deportation-of-Syrian-families<\/a>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n [8]<\/a>Human Rights Watch, Ibid.\r\n\r\n [9]<\/a>Amnesty International, \u201cUAE: Prominent academic jailed for 10 years over tweets in outrageous blow to freedom of expression,\u201d 29 March 2017, last accessed on 23 July 2018, link: https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2017\/03\/uae-prominent-academic-jailed-for-10-years-over-tweets-in-outrageous-blow-to-freedom-of-expression\/<\/a>\r\n\r\n [10]<\/a>Human Rights Watch, \u201cUAE: Reports of Systematic Torture in Jails: Smuggled Notes Detail Serious Abuse in Detention,\u201d Human Rights Watch, 27 June 2017, last accessed on 21 July 2018, link: https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2013\/06\/27\/uae-reports-systematic-torture-jails<\/a>\r\n\r\n [11]<\/a>Ibid.\r\n\r\n [12]<\/a>Ibid.\r\n\r\n [13]<\/a>Amnesty International, Ibid.\r\n\r\n [14]<\/a>Ibid., Human Rights Watch.\r\n\r\n [15]<\/a>Human Rights Watch, \u201cUAE: Stop Policing Gender Expression: Arrest of Singaporeans Sheds Light on Misuse of Law,\u201d Human Rights Watch, New York, published on 7 September 2017, accessed on 18 July 2018, link: https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2017\/09\/07\/uae-stop-policing-gender-expression\r\n\r\n [16]<\/a>ICFUAE, \u201cWomen\u2019s rights in the UAE,\u201d ICFUAE, London, 16 October 2017, last accessed on 21 July 2018, link: http:\/\/icfuae.org.uk\/issues\/women%E2%80%99s-rights-uae-0<\/a>\r\n\r\n [17]<\/a>Rod Nordland, \u201cHolding Hands, Drinking Wine and Other Ways to Go to Jail in Dubai,\u201d New York Times, New York, 11 November 2018, last accessed on 21 July 2018, link: https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/11\/11\/world\/middleeast\/dubai-crimes-united-arab-emirates-jail.html<\/a>\r\n\r\n [18]<\/a>Amnesty International, \u201cUnited Arab Emirates 2017\/2018 Report,\u201d Amnesty International, New York, date of publication unknown, accessed on 18 July 2018, link: https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/countries\/middle-east-and-north-africa\/united-arab-emirates\/report-united-arab-emirates\/<\/a>","post_title":"With Visa Free Access...Does the EU reward UAE for Human Rights Violations?","post_excerpt":"This year, Sharjah Prosecution charged the man with human trafficking. The case is involving begging by an Asian national who affected 15 male victims.Over 3,000 distressed Filipinoswere repatriated by the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Philippine Consulate General in Dubai last year \u2013 all victims of human traffickers.","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"with-visa-free-access-does-the-eu-reward-uae-for-human-rights-violations","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-02-02 08:39:40","post_modified_gmt":"2025-02-02 08:39:40","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=2444","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":2441,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2018-07-24 22:55:25","post_date_gmt":"2018-07-24 22:55:25","post_content":"On 6 May, 2015 the European Union (EU) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a 90-day visa waiver agreement<\/a> in Brussels. Representatives of the Latvian Presidency of the Council and the European Commission signed the agreement on behalf of the EU, whileAmbassador Sulaiman Hamid Almazroui, signed the agreement on behalf of UAE. Following singing the agreement, the EU became the first Arab country to sign such an agreement with the EU, allowing its citizens and that of the EU to stay in both territories for a period of 180 days within any a given period of 180 days.[1]<\/a>\r\n\r\nDespite the potential benefits of such an agreement for the nationals of both parties, the EU has failed to consider the situation of human rights, workers\u2019 rights, money laundry and tax evasion in the UAE, in addition to oppressing political opposition where dozens of activists have been thrown into jails due to expressing their opinions on ongoing events in the region, in addition to the UAE role in Yemen which resulted in various human rights violations, which contradicts the EU\u2019s commitments in relation to human rights and freedom of speech.[2]<\/a>\r\n\r\nAccording to a report published by Human Rights Watch on January 18, 2018 \u201cThe United Arab Emirates was involved in abuses at home and abroad in 2017, arresting one of the last outspoken rights critics in the country and playing a role in torture and disappearances in Yemen.\u201d [3]<\/a> One of the people detained at home was Ahmed Mansoor, a prominent award-winning UAE national who has been the voice of the UAE over the years defending their human rights and exposing human rights violations against them. Human rights violations in the UAE extend to foreign workers who face serious exploitation. This includes discrimination based on gender, identity and sexual orientation, Human Rights noted.\r\n\r\nThese violations are not limited to home, but rather they extend beyond the borders of the UAE, especially in Yemen where the UAE is a leading member of the Saudi-led coalition against Houthis, where the UAW has been in involved in dozens of human rights violations, some of which amount to war crimes and that resulted in the death of 1,000 civilians. This also included supporting abuse Yemeni forces that was heavily involved in human rights violations. This also involved the torture of detainees inside UAE-run prisons and facilities.[4]<\/a> \u201cWhenever the US and others praise the UAE for its critical counterterrorism support in places like Yemen, they paper over a much darker reality \u2013 of disappearances, torture, and detainee abuse, and their own potential complicity in these abuses,\u201d Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch said.\r\n\r\nThe UAE is heavily engaged in financial crimes in a violation of the commitments and principles of the EU. This includes drug trade, tax evasion and money laundering. This UAE behavior contradicts the principles of transparency of the EU which has been adopted over the years and put the credibility of the EU at stake. The EU has to take serious steps in this regard\u00a0 as the implications of these financial crimes might have regional and international implication such as funding terrorism, which puts the EU\u2019s security at stake.\r\n\r\nThese violations contradict the EU\u2019s regulations and principles in relation to promoting and protecting human rights, which requires a comprehensive review of the visa-waiver agreement signed between the two parties. These UAE violations contradict the provisions of the EU Convention on Human Rights, which calls for protecting human life, prohibits torture, prohibits forced labor, protects right to liberty and security, promotes freedom of expression, and prohibits discrimination.[5]<\/a> This report is divided into two sections, the following section will address EU commitment to human rights in light with cooperating with third parties and the second section will highlight the UAE\u2019s human rights abuses in light of its partnership with the EUhuman dignity a special place where it came first in its charter on human rights. Article 1 and 2 of the Charter reads \u201cHuman dignity is inviolable. It must be respected and protected,\u201d and \u201c1. Everyone has the right to life. 2. No one shall be condemned to the death penalty, or executed.\u201d [6]<\/a> Therefore, the right of human dignity and life has been on the forefront of the EU approach to promoting human rights, including signing agreements with other countries for the same purpose.\r\n\r\nIn the same context ofprohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Article 4 of the Charter states that \u201cno one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.\u201d [7]<\/a> The EU has engaged in human rights dialogues aimed at combating torture and ill-treatment of people such as the dialogue launched with Iran and China. The EU has always been critical of groups or states that have been involved in torture in different parts of the world and has always called for terminating torture and abuse. In fact, a special EU committee was formed to combat torture known as European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT).[8]<\/a>\r\n\r\n [1]<\/a>Council of the European Union, \u201cEU signs visa waiver agreement with the United Arab Emirates,\u201d Press Release, 6 May 2015 accessed on 17 July 2018, link: http:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/en\/press\/press-releases\/2015\/05\/06\/eu-signs-visa-waiver-agreement-united-arab-emirates\/\r\n\r\n [2]<\/a>Amnesty International, \u201cUnited Arab Emirates,\u201d Country Profile, UAE, date unknown, accessed on 17 July 2018, link to the profile: https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/countries\/middle-east-and-north-africa\/united-arab-emirates\/report-united-arab-emirates\/\r\n\r\n [3]<\/a>Human Rights Watch, \u201cUAE: Abuses at Home, Abroad: Prominent Critic Detained; Possible War Crimes in Yemen,\u201d Human Rights Watch, published on 18 January 2018, accessed on 16 July 2018, link: https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2018\/01\/18\/uae-abuses-home-abroad\r\n\r\n [4]<\/a>Ibid.\r\n\r\n [5]<\/a>The European Union, \u201cEuropean Convention on Human Rights,\u201d Article 1 to Article 15, accessed on 18 July 2018, link: https:\/\/www.echr.coe.int\/Documents\/Convention_ENG.pdf\r\n\r\n [6]<\/a>Charter of Fundamental Rights ofThe EuropeanUnion, Official Journal of the European Union, C 326\/391, 26 December 2012, accessed on 17 July 2018, link: https:\/\/eur-lex.europa.eu\/legal-content\/EN\/TXT\/?uri=CELEX:12012P\/TXT<\/a>\r\n\r\n [7]<\/a>Ibid.\r\n\r\n [8]<\/a>For more information about CPT, check their website https:\/\/www.coe.int\/en\/web\/cpt","post_title":"Report: UAE Human Rights Record Contradicts EU values","post_excerpt":"An Examination of UAE Human Rights Record \r\nand the requirements of EU Visa Waiver\r\n","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"report-uae-human-rights-record-contradicts-eu-values","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-02-02 08:39:40","post_modified_gmt":"2025-02-02 08:39:40","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=2441","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"177","filter":"raw"},{"ID":2438,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2018-07-24 22:26:12","post_date_gmt":"2018-07-24 22:26:12","post_content":"The EU has been one of the most prominent defenders and promoters of human rights globally. This EU approach has been reflected by its domestic as well as foreign policy, including by stressing the importance of human rights in its agreements with third parties.\r\n\r\nDespite this EU approach, it has signed a visa-waiver program with the UAE in 2015 despite the long record of the country in human rights violations, including violations against migrant workers, its own nationals, as well as violations in other countries, such as torture and involvement in military activities that claimed the lives of nearly 1,000 civilians.\r\n\r\nThe UAE violations extend to committing financial crimes such as turning Dubai into a tax haven and engaging in money laundry, some of which is used to finance terrorism. In light of this, the EU is urged to reconsider its agreement with the UAE and to terminate the waiver program with the UAE to further assert its commitment to promoting and protecting human rights. This includes assuring protecting women rights, political dissidents, migrant workers, refugees, Europeans, and minorities.\r\n\r\nThe EU is urged to set more transparent means in its dealing with the UAE including its financial dealings. The EU is urged to reconsider its visa waiver program with the UAE until it abides by the EY general guidelines in relation to human rights.","post_title":"Why the United Arab Emirates should be disqualified from EU Visa Waiver","post_excerpt":"On 6 May, 2015 the European Union (EU) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a 90-day visa waiver agreement in Brussels. ","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"democracy-centre-for-transparency-dct-2","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-02-02 08:39:40","post_modified_gmt":"2025-02-02 08:39:40","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=2438","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"188","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":65},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};

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Under the influence: call for an investigation in the European Parliament

New Report: How the United Arab Emirates Disqualified from EU Visa Waiver

With Visa Free Access…Does the EU reward UAE for Human Rights Violations?

Report: UAE Human Rights Record Contradicts EU values

Why the United Arab Emirates should be disqualified from EU Visa Waiver