Human rights in Dubai

Main article: Human rights in the United Arab Emirates

Dubai has approximately 250,000 laborers, mostly South Asian, working on real estate development projects such as the Dubai Marina.

Human rights in Dubai are based on the Constitution and enacted laws, which do address many of the concerns of human rights organizations. For example, the Constitution promises equitable treatment of all people, regardless of race, nationality or social status, per Article 25 of the Constitution of the United Arab Emirates. In contrast to other nations in the region, there is also a significant degree of both press and religious freedom.

However, many human rights complaints have been reported upon. Most notably, of the 250,000 foreign laborers in the city live in conditions described by Human Rights Watch as being "less than human."

Foreign Workers & Labor Rights

Construction workers from Asia on top floor of the Angsana Tower

NPR reports that workers "typically live eight to a room, sending home a portion of their salary to their families, whom they don't see for years at a time."^{[citation needed]} The BBC has reported that "local newspapers often carry stories of construction workers allegedly not being paid for months on end. They are not allowed to move jobs and if they leave the country to go home they will almost certainly lose the money they say they are owed." Additionally, most of the workers are forced to give up their passports upon entering Dubai, making it very difficult to return home. In September 2005, the Minister of Labour ordered one company to pay unpaid salaries within 24 hours after workers protested, and published the name of the offending company.

In December 2005, the Indian consulate in Dubai submitted a report to the Government of India detailing labor problems faced by Indian expatriates in the emirate. The report highlighted delayed payment of wages, substitution of employment contracts, premature termination of services and excessive working hours as being some of the challenges faced by Indian workers in the city. On 21 March 2006, workers at the construction site of Burj Khalifa, upset over bus timings and working conditions, rioted: damaging cars, offices, computers, and construction tools.

The city's discriminatory legal system and unequal treatment of foreigners has been brought to light by its alleged attempts to cover up information on the rape of Alexandre Robert, a 15 year old French-Swiss national, by three locals, one of whose HIV-positive status was hidden by the authorities for several months and by the recent mass imprisonment of migrant laborers, most of whom were from India, on account of their protests against poor wages and living conditions. Despite protests by Human Rights Watch and several governments, companies continue to take the passports of foreign passports refuse to pay promised salaries. These practices have been labeled as modern slavery by numerous organizations.

The alleged labour injustices in Dubai have attracted the attention of various Human Rights groups, which have tried to persuade the government to become a signatory to two of the International Labour Organization's 7 core conventions, which allows for the formation of labour unions. The Dubai government has denied any kind of labour injustices and has stated that the watchdog's (Human Rights Watch) accusations were misguided. Towards the end of March 2006, the government announced steps to allow construction unions. UAE labour minister Ali al-Kaabi said: "Labourers will be allowed to form unions."

Religious Freedom

Islam is the official religion in Dubai and thus traditional Islamic morality lays the foundation for the judicial system and its laws. A policy of religious toleration generally allows foreigners to practice their faith in a private residence or they can petition the government for a land grant and permission to build a religious institution to hold religious services, which may be a slow process [2].

A few Christian Churches and hospitals do exist, along with some facilities for Hindus, Sikhs and Bahai. Non-Muslim groups are generally allowed to meet and advertise their events, but the law prohibits and harshly punishes proselytizing [3]. For more information see, Freedom of religion in the United Arab Emirates.

Freedom of Expression

As is the case with religious freedom, Dubai does, in comparison to other nations in the region, extend a degree of toleration for freedom of expression. Sheikh Mohammed, Dubai’s Crown Prince, has made public speeches asserting that Dubai will remain committed to press freedom, international journalists are generally left alone and a new law was enacted that will protect journalists from imprisonment for doing their job [4]. The Constitution of the United Arab Emirates guarantee freedom of opinion, press and expression within the limits of the law.

However, human rights groups have expressed concerns about freedom of expression in Dubai, which is often limited by enacted laws or Ministerial edicts in the name of protecting traditional Islamic morality or the image and reputation of Dubai and its leaders.

In 2007, the Dubai government shut down two Pakistani based television channels, Geo News and Ary One. Their entertainment, but not news and political programming, were eventually permitted to broadcast in Dubai [5].

The Dubai Ministry of Culture and Media banned the exhibition of a play, "Kholkhal", just hours before it was scheduled to be performed at the 8th annual Gulf Theater Festival [6].

While journalists can no longer be jailed for doing their job, other legal actions can be taken against them. Several members of the Dubai press remain on a government list as being banned from being published within the Emirate. There is also reportedly a degree of self-censorship that occurs, for fear of governmental sanctions, of certain certain topics that are critical of government policy, the royal family, or may offend traditional Islamic morality [7].

For more information see, Emirates Discussion Forum.

Women's Rights

The Constitution of the United Arab Emirates stipulates equal rights for women in certain areas of society, such as legal status, claiming of titles, and access to education and Dubai does allow for the creation of social and charitable organizations for women, although they must avoid overt political advocacy.

A growing number of women are in the public and private sector workforce and women are also allowed to serve in the Dubai military. In Dubai women are eligible to vote and hold public office [8], with the government setting aside certain seats for female representation.

For more information see, Women in the United Arab Emirates.

LGBT rights

In keeping with traditional Islamic morality, both Federal and Emirate law prohibit homosexuality and cross-dressing with punishment ranging from long prison sentences, deportation, for foreigners, and the death penalty. No nightclub exists for LGBT patrons and no political organization is allowed to advocate for LGBT rights. For more information see, LGBT rights in the United Arab Emirates.

Commercial Sex Workers

Heterosexual Prostitution, though illegal by law, is conspicuously present in the emirate because of an economy that is largely based on tourism and trade. Research conducted by the American Center for International Policy Studies (AMCIPS) found that women from the former USSR and Ethiopian women are the most common prostitutes, as well as women from some African countries, while Indian prostitutes are part of a well organized trans-Oceanic prostitution network. A 2007 PBS documentary entitled Dubai: Night Secrets reported that prostitution in clubs is tolerated by authorities and many foreign women work there without being coerced, attracted by the money.

Zero tolerance drug policy

Drugs found in urine or blood testing count as "possession" under UAE law. Raymond Bingham, BBC's DJ Grooverider, was sentenced to four years in prison after a pair of jeans in his luggage was found to contain just over 2 grams of marijuana. The Dubai authorities have been known to stop tourists on layovers at the airport and are now using extremely sensitive electronic detection equipment, including urine and blood screening, to search for traces of illegal substances. Keith Brown, a British national and father of three, was arrested on September 17, 2007 after authorities claim to have discovered a speck of cannabis on the bottom of one of his shoes. According to an article in the Daily Mail, the alleged illegal substance was smaller than a grain of sugar - weighing approximately .003 grams. He has also been sentenced to four years in prison. Another UK citizen, Tracy Wilkinson, was arrested and accused of being a "drugs baroness" in 2005 after authorities found codeine in her blood. Wilkinson has a bad back and received an injection of codeine at a Dubai hospital. She ended up spending two months in a cell where she contracted dysentery, head lice and an infestation of fleas before she was eventually released on bail. German television producer Cat Le-Huy was arrested in January 2008 for possessing a bottle of the over-the-counter hormone sleep aid Melatonin. Authorities claimed that some dirt in Mr. Le-Huy's luggage was hashish. A Vancouver resident named Bert Tatham was arrested at Dubai International Airport returning home from Afghanistan (where he was ironically working with farmers to try to convince them not to grow poppies). The anti-narcotics officer was found to have two dead poppy bulbs and a tiny amount of hashish melted into the seams of one of his trouser pockets. After spending more than 10 months in prison, he was eventually pardoned by U.A.E. President H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The 2007 censorship of two Pakistani satellite channels

On 16 November 2007 Tecom stopped broadcast of two major Pakistani satellite news channels, uplinked from Dubai Media City, which was initially marketed by Tecom under the tagline "Freedom to Create." The Dubai government had ordered Tecom to shut down the popular independent Pakistani news channels Geo News and ARY One World on the demand of Pakistan's military regime led by General Pervez Musharraf. This was implemented by du Samacom disabling their SDI & ASI streams. Later, policy makers in Dubai permitted these channels to air their entertainment programs, but news, current affairs and political analysis were forbidden. Although subsequently the conditions were removed, marked differences have since been observed in their coverage. This incident has had a serious impact on all organizations in the media city with Geo TV and ARY OneWorld considering relocation.

See also

• LGBT rights in United Arab Emirates
• Slave labor

External links

• Inside Dubai's labor camps- Picture gallery from The Guardian of South Asian slave labor in Dubai
• The dark side of Dubai - Article by Johann Hari on the racial discrimination against South Asian slave laborers in the region.