Human Rights in the UAE
The UAE is committed to providing equality and social justice to all people living within its borders. Over the last four decades, the UAE has transformed from a traditional, largely rural nation – where people had limited to no access to education and health services – to a modern, urbanized society with sophisticated infrastructure. With this extraordinary growth came large-scale immigration—the total UAE population increased by nearly 75 percent between 1995 and 2006.
Rapid urban development and population expansion brought new challenges for the UAE, its people and government. The UAE Government has taken an active, transparent and inclusive approach in order to protect the different communities that contribute to the country's growth and development.
In recent years, significant progress has been made to promote and ensure the rights of workers, women and children; implementing domestic legal frameworks; and ratifying international human rights
Stopping Human Trafficking
The UAE is a regional leader in combating human trafficking and is the first country in the Arab region to enact a comprehensive anti-trafficking law. Between 2007 and 2012, the UAE made remarkable progress on its four-part anti-trafficking strategy, which focused on:
- Developing legislation and regulations related to human trafficking;
- Guiding the relevant authorities towards implementing preventive and deterrent measures;
- Securing protection and support for the victims of these crimes; and,
- Promoting regional and international cooperation to combat human trafficking.
In its 2012 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report , the United States Department of State concluded that the UAE was making significant efforts to comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and that the government continued to prosecute and punish sex trafficking offenders.
Other highlights of the UAE's anti-trafficking activities include:
- An expanded media campaign to enhance public awareness about the crime of human trafficking;
- A strategy to combat all forms of forced labor through the imposition of heavy fines; and,
- An expansion in the number of shelters for women and children who are victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. These shelters provide care for victims of human trafficking in line with the highest international standards.
Strengthening Worker’s Rights
The UAE is actively committed to strengthening the rights of workers and has undertaken a series of measures that create more flexibility and freedom in the labor market. These include regulatory measures that protect the rights of workers in case of disputes with employers and provide access to litigation processes, as well as guarantee decent and safe accommodation for workers.
The United States Department of State noted the UAE’s efforts in its 2012 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report for initiating the Abu Dhabi Dialogue among migrant-labor sending and receiving states in 2008. Through the Abu Dhabi Dialogue, governments seek to foster policies that offer greater transparency and protections for would-be migrants for labor source countries. The report concluded that other countries in the region, stating that they need to overhaul their sponsorship systems, as well as expand and improve efforts to protect these vulnerable workers.
Advancing the Role of Women
The UAE is a progressive, moderate country where women hold leadership roles in all sectors and industries, including government, military, business and society. Women now occupy thirty per cent of higher leadership and decision-making positions in the UAE and participate meaningfully in every facet of civic and political life. The promotion of women’s rights continues to be a priority on the nation’s agenda with the government adopting a National Strategy for the Advancement of Women for 2013 to 2017.
International Cooperation
Understanding the important role international cooperation plays in the protection of human rights, the UAE has taken active measures, as reported in its submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council, to comply with internationally accepted standards.
The UAE recently acceded to various international conventions, including:
- The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
- The International Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Racial Discrimination
- The Convention on the Rights of the Child
- The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (whose optional protocol the UAE signed in 2010)
- The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
- The Convention on Transnational Organized Crime
- The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children
Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are an essential part of the principles and values engrained in Emirati society. The UAE continues to promote and protect human rights by ensuring national implementation of human rights commitments and complying with international standards.
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