Human Rights in UAE

UAE has been going through a transitional phase. They are keen on adopting the best global practices. Besides rapid development and economic growth, they have been dedicated to making the UAE a cosmopolitan city with a modern touch.

Since, the past, the country has always advocated for human rights. However, the times have evolved, and now the UAE has become champion in human rights activities, initiatives, security and advancements and scrutiny. United Arab Emirates came under the spotlight for changing its approach towards human rights. Labour and Employment Law 2022, Business Laws and many other commercial laws are the best examples. A country where 8 out of 10 people are expatriates and they are happy, must tell us about the peak of human rights.

UAE has a robust legal system. The judiciary system of the country is an amalgamation of civil law and sharia law. The constitution of the UAE is the backbone of the legal framework. The constitution of the United Arab Emirates believes in equality for all before the law. There is no one who is above the law even the UAE citizen. There is no discrimination based on gender, race, class, religion, social beliefs, nationalities, social status, color, caste or creed.

The country has actively been taking guidance from international treaties like The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

However, there are many loopholes in the execution and implementation. The international observers and human rights organizations have raised some serious questions. There are concerns regarding the commitments but the UAE is going in the right direction. They are trying hard and the efforts are unquestionable. Human rights organizations like Amnesty organization and Human Rights Watch have kept a close eye on the highlighted issues. They are consistently scrutinizing the UAE and provide useful feedback to the government for strengthening its efforts.

As a result, the Expo 2020 stands as the best example for addressing the critics and also setting the human rights records straight.

The government has made sincere efforts to promote gender equality in the UAE in recent times. Initiatives such as the Gender Balance Council are a perfect example of this. The basic aim of the council is to promote gender equality in the UAE workplace. Women empowerment has been the core objective of UAE government in last few years.

Now a significant proportion of the working population is based on females and women. This is a direct result of the changed policy. Women empowerment in the UAE is relatively a new concept. The government of UAE advocates for it and also includes the women at government level, private level, and public sector level.

Women now hold special leadership roles which they never did before. In recent statistics, almost 50 percent of the total Federal National Council (FNC) members are based on females. This has portrayed the UAE as emerging as the champion for gender equality and women empowerment. These show the commitment and dedication of the UAE toward a safer, fairer, and balanced society.

A lot of efforts and constitutional guarantees for women’s empowerment and gender equality has been made. There are many examples of gender-related equality and racial-based free discrimination justices, in UAE. The reports have shown that significant efforts are made by UAE government to promote the Human Rights in UAE. Expatriates are fully protected and safe in UAE. UAE is recognized as world’s safest place to live especially for women and children. If UAE still faces lots of criticism from Human rights activists for ill-treatment and political interference and maneuvering, then these are nothing but just accusations.

• But, there is less freedom of speech, and transparency in UAE as well. You do not have freedom of speech, and freedom of expressions in United Arab Emirates. It might be due to few reasons, that residents do not enjoy the freedom of speech like other democratic countries, but protection and justice level which is provided in UAE by UAE government, does not have any comparison with others too.
• UAE’s economy is heavily reliant on labour from various parts of the world. Almost 88 percent of the total workforce is non-Emiratis. They are called expatriates who come to the UAE in search of better living. There has been a significant reform made to promote labor rights for expatriates in the UAE. Recent amendments in 2022, is the best example of Labour Law UAE reformations. However, there are lots of major concerns over labor rights need to be reformed yet. There are a series of challenges that need to be addressed. The persist threats that hinder the way are low-wage workers, exploitation of labor particularly in construction sites, and domestic workers.
• There are many instances where workers complain about poor working conditions, excess working hours, and more. There are serious issues that are yet to be addressed by the government of the Emirates. Though government is very fair with them, and setting strict laws too, but the people on private sector are found conducting such inhuman policies for workers. Though UAE government is trying to eradicate this, but it still does exist in the country. We are sure that in next few years UAE government will be able to eradicate all such practices from private sector, on 100% level. Government has actively introduced the minimum wage laws in the UAE. The basic motive behind this is to ensure the protection of human rights in the UAE.
• The abolition of the Kafala system and introduction of minimum wage rates is the effort to prevent labor exploitation at any level in the work environment. It shows the human rights in UAE and interest of UAE government to promote the human rights.

The UAE has taken serious steps to implement the laws and regulations to address some other issues including delayed wages and unhealthy working atmosphere. This portrays a dedication from the UAE towards labor rights.

Religious freedom is also an important element in human rights advocacy. Therefore, the UAE has made substantial moves to ensure freedom of religion. UAE is a multicultural society based on people coming from various religions, beliefs, faiths, backgrounds, and ethnicities. The initiatives by the UAE have underscored the commitment towards religious freedom, tolerance, co-existence, and religious harmony.  The UAE is now home to different places of worship.

As people from different countries and religions operate here, now they are free to practice their religion like never before.  There are open Churches, Temples, Gurdwara, and Synagogues, for non-Muslims. On the flip side, the Muslims also enjoy the similar freedom and liberty to practice their religion as before. This undermines the UAE’s commitment towards religious freedom like never before.

UAE has taken wonderful initiatives to promote and protect human rights in UAE. We can say that the UAE is the safest place on earth to live, and human rights are not violated here. UAE sets laws and punishments against those who are found as breaching human rights and legal rules. For legal advise and services, kindly consult our lawyers and legal consultants.