The CIVICUS Monitor in their latest global report branded the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as ‘repressed’ for civic space, and added the Gulf country in its watchlist as the crackdown has escalated ahead of the COP28 summit.

The CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist in its report titled ‘September watchlist 2023’ highlighted ‘serious concerns’ about the UAE and four other countries – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, Senegal and Bangladesh – regarding the exercise of civic freedoms.

The report observes these five countries are at risk of a sharp downturn in civic rights and freedoms.

The release of this report of the global civic freedom watchdog coincides with the ongoing 54th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council began on September 11 to end on October13.

Categories of the countries in its watchlist are determined based on the data compiled by the CIVICUS Monitor tracking the state of civic freedoms in 197 countries and territories using inputs from research partners based around the globe, the release read.