21Dec, 2023
    British MP raises UAE87 trial with foreign ministry

    In a written parliamentary question, British MP Caroline Lucas raised UAE87 trial with the British Foreign Office. The letter reads: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he had discussions with his UAE counterpart during COP 28 on reports that UAE has (a) brought new charges against (i) internationally recognised […]

    18Dec, 2023
    At COP28, 12,000 surveillance cameras are causing concerns about civil liberties

    At the United Nations’ COP28 climate summit in Dubai, surveillance cameras seem to be everywhere you turn. And that has some worried. It’s unclear how the United Arab Emirates (UAE), an autocratic federation of seven sheikhdoms, uses the footage it gathers across its extensive network.  However, the country already has deployed facial recognition at immigration […]

    11Dec, 2023
    UAE87 is a new unfair trial against Emirati political prisoners

    As COP28 is being concluded in Dubai, the UAE authorities have conducted a mass trial of 87 prisoners on terrorism charges, including Mohamed Al-Roken, Salim Hamdoon al-Shahhi and Hadif Rashed al-Owais, whose sentences expired over a year ago and are held in poor conditions with no family contact.  The Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center, headed by […]

    11Dec, 2023
    Protesters at COP28 demand release of UAE political prisoners

    A small group of demonstrators staged a very rare protest in Dubai on Saturday at the COP28 UN climate summit site to demand the release of pro-democracy activists imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates and  About 25 activists took part in the protest, holding up pictures of Emirati prisoners Ahmed Mansoor and Mohamed al-Siddiq and […]

    1Dec, 2023
    The Guardian: How top PR firm uses ‘trust barometer’ to promote world’s autocrats

    Edelman, world’s largest public relations company, paid millions by Saudi Arabia, UAE and other repressive regimes Public trust in some of the world’s most repressive governments is soaring, according to Edelman, the world’s largest public relations firm, whose flagship “trust barometer” has created its reputation as an authority on global trust. For years, Edelman has […]

    23Nov, 2023
    Ahead of COP28, HRW says UAE migrant workers face more climate change risks

    Migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) face increasing risks related to climate change as they work in extreme heat without adequate protection, a leading rights group warned on Tuesday. “Widespread labor abuses like exorbitant recruitment fees and wage theft limit workers’ ability to send financial support back home, including during climate-linked extreme weather […]

    20Nov, 2023
    GCHR holds the Alternative Human Rights Expo II

    The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and 35 partners presented the Alternative Human Rights Expo II, an online event on 15 November 2023.  The event was hosted by Weaam Youssef of GCHR, exiled Emirati woman human rights defender Jenan Al-Marzooqi, and Brian Dooley of Human Rights First. The event was very personal for the […]

    16Nov, 2023
    HRW: EU Foreign Ministers Should Urge UAE Rights Progress Ahead of COP28

    In a letter to EU foreign ministers ahead of their meeting with Al-Jaber, Human Rights Watch urged them to call on the UAE to end its repression of independent civil society, release imprisoned human rights defenders, including Ahmed Mansoor, and ensure governments at COP28 commit to a full, equitable, and rights-respecting phase out of all […]

    16Nov, 2023
    US senator calls for Ahmed Mansoor’s release

    In a letter to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) called for the release of human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor ahead of Cop28. We call once more for the release of Emirati human rights advocate Ahmed Mansoor, imprisoned since 2017, the US senator wrote on X along with a […]

    13Nov, 2023
    Greta Thunberg: No Climate Justice on Occupied Land

    In a recent climate protest in Amsterdam, climate activist Greta Thunberg has made a bold statement, highlighting the inseparability of environmental and social justice issues.  The event, taking place just days before COP 28 which scheduled to be held in the UAE, underscores the political significance of climate activism and the challenges it poses in […]

    9Nov, 2023
    Amnesty launches new petition to call for Ahmed Mansoor’s release

    Amnesty International launched a new petition calling on the UAE Ambassador to London to help secure the immediate release of the Emirati human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor. Ahmed Mansoor is a loving husband and father, a blogger and a poet. He is currently in solitary confinement for speaking out about human rights in the UAE. […]

    6Nov, 2023
    346 civil society organisations send an open letter to UAE authorities

    With the start of COP28 in Dubai in a month,  346 civil society organisations call on the Emirati authorities, UN and State Parties to guarantee an inclusive COP and release jailed human rights defenders in the UAE. The letter stresses the imperative for the organisers to put ordinary citizens, including excluded communities, at the centre […]

    3Nov, 2023
    The Impact of A Controversial Interpol President on Human Rights and Global Security

    The election of Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi as the President of Interpol in 2021 has stirred controversy within the realm of international law enforcement, the European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR) said in a new release. Since 2015, he has held the position of Inspector-General of the Ministry of Interior, overseeing the prison system […]

    30Oct, 2023
    HRW: Climate Action Requires Upholding Rights

    Participants in the 28th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) should urge the UAE, the host, to end its repression of independent civil society and should make a commitment to phasing out fossil fuels, Human Rights Watch said today in issuing a question and answer document about the meeting. The conference will begin on […]

    26Oct, 2023
    MPs criticise UK ‘failure’ over appointment of UAE official as Interpol chief

    The election of an Emirati official as Interpol’s president after a British citizen was allegedly tortured in UAE custody represented “a failure of UK diplomacy”, a group of MPs has said. In a report published on Friday, the Foreign Affairs Committee also raised concerns of an “unnecessarily defensive culture” within the government which it said […]