Union Association for Human Rights: Praising UAE While Ignoring Its Dark Record

Recently, it has come to light that several organisations have been noted for their activities including receiving funding from the UAE, praising its initiatives, and conducting events that favour the nation. These organisations contribute significantly to various causes that profit the UAE and serve as platforms that reinforce the positive image of the UAE through their initiatives and events. It is no secret that the UAE is notorious for using organizations as tools to boost its image and conduct business on a global level to whitewash its negative image.

In the last decade, the UAE has spent a significant amount of its oil money funding various organizations, from lobbying to PR firms and think tanks, to boost the image of its oil-rich monarchy. This monarchy is involved in widespread human rights violations, breaches of international law, a lack of democracy, and serious restrictions on freedom of speech.

The latest organization operating as a tool for the UAE, receiving substantial funding, is known as the Union Association for Human Rights. The Union Association for Human Rights was established in the UAE in January 2024. Dr Fatima Khalifa Al Kaabi serves as President of the Association, and Maryam Al Ahmadi is vice President.

On 18th March the Union Association for Human Rights participated in the 55th session of the Human Rights Council’s High-level Segment in Geneva, to praise the UAE. Surprisingly, the Union Association for Human Rights (UAHR) has highlighted the UAE’s efforts to combat terrorism and curb its sources globally, emphasizing the country’s contributions to promoting world peace and upholding international human rights commitments. However, the UAE is involved in the war in Yemen and funding proxies in the Middle East to extend its influence while committing blatant human rights violations within its borders.

The Union Association for Human Rights (UAHR) has also commended President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan as a leader and role model for promoting peace and coexistence worldwide. However, it fails to acknowledge that he leads an authoritarian regime where free and fair elections are nonexistent. Political and civil rights are limited, free speech is restricted, and there is no independent media.

On 17 July 2020, a French investigating magistrate was designated to carry out the investigation targeting Mohamed bin Zayed for “collaboration in the of torture” citing the UAE’s involvement in the Yemen civil war. One of the two complaints was filed with the constitution of the civil party by six Yemenis, who argued to have been tortured, electrocuted and burned by cigarettes in Yemeni captivity centres controlled by the UAE armed forces. A report by United Nations experts stressed that the attacks of the Saudi-led coalition, of which the UAE is a member, may have comprised war crimes, and that the Emirati forces maintained two centres where torture has been carried out.

Also, the Association suggested that the Human Rights Council conduct effective and transparent inquiries into violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. However, the association overlooked that Human Rights in the United Arab Emirates are substantially limited. The UAE does not have democratically elected institutions and residents do not have the freedom to change their government or form political parties. Activists and academics who condemn the government are detained and jailed, and their families are often persecuted by the state security apparatus.

In another prominent example, the Union Association for Human Rights has wrongly praised the UAE for providing humanitarian aid, including food, water, medicine, and healthcare to civilians and the wounded in conflict-affected areas. 

However, Migrants, especially migrant workers, make up a majority (about  80%) of the resident population of the UAE and account for 90% of its workforce. They generally lack rights linked with citizenship and face a variety of conditions on their rights as workers. There are reports of undocumented Emiratis who, because of their incapacity to be recognised as full citizens, receive no government advantages and have no labour rights.

In one more instance, the Union Association for Human Rights (UAHR), in collaboration with the National Library and Archives (NLA) and the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, arranged an exhibition on the sidelines of the UAHR’s participation in the 56th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The exhibition was carried out under the title “The United Nations Vision and the UAE Model in Simulating the Future.” It showcased the extent of the “Future Summit” in shaping the future of human rights and presented the efforts, achievements, and administration of the UAE in the field of human rights. On the other hand, according to the human rights organization Amnesty International the UAE practices torture, arbitrary arrest, and forced disappearance of citizens and residents.

The organization showcases the falsified achievements of the UAE as a successful nation that cares about humanity, while conveniently overlooking the darker aspects of the UAE’s actions. There are several incidents of forced disappearances of foreign nationals and Emirati citizens, who have been seized, detained and tortured in undisclosed areas, and refused the right to a speedy trial and access to counsel during probes by the UAE government. Human Rights Watch expresses that Emirati laws maintain capital punishment and discriminate against women and migrants.

The government limits freedom of speech and freedom of the press, and the local media are censored to stop criticism of the government, government officials or royal families. As a result, the UAE routinely rates near the bottom of many international standards for human rights and press freedom. Based on these reports and statements released by the association, it is clear that it serves as a tool for the UAE, blatantly exposing its activities as largely fictional and disconnected from reality. Another question that arises is the financial agreement between the association and the UAE, which remains undisclosed, but it can be inferred that the association likely receives substantial funding from the UAE.