HUMAN RIGHTS
WATCH Middle East and North Africa FrenchSpanishRussianKoreanArabicHebrewspacer
RSSPortugueseGermanChinesePersianMore Languagesspacer
   
United Arab Emirates

Letter to the Secretary General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference
Urging the Organisation to Improve and Strengthen the 1999 OIC Convention on Combating International Terrorism
Human Rights Watch writes to urge Dr. Ihsanoglu to use his position as Secretary General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference to support measures at the upcoming Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Conference in Dakar, Senegal on March 13-14 that would improve and strengthen the 1999 OIC Convention on Combating International Terrorism. In particular, we urge the OIC to consider two amendments to the Convention in order to narrow its overbroad definition of terrorism and to make absolutely clear that there is no sanction in Islam for deliberately attacking civilians, whatever the circumstances or justifications.
March 11, 2008    Letter
Also available in  arabic  french 
Printer friendly version

UAE: Meetings Should Address Migrant Workers’ Rights
When labor ministers from 22 Asian and Middle Eastern countries meet in Abu Dhabi this week to discuss Asian contract migrant workers, they should address widespread violations of migrant workers’ rights, Human Rights Watch said today.
January 18, 2008    Press Release
Also available in  arabic 
Printer friendly version

Letter to Governments in Asia and the Middle East on International Migrants' Day
Migrants’ Groups Call for Key Reforms
We are writing on December 18, 2007, International Migrants’ Day, to call upon you to implement key reforms to respect and uphold migrants’ rights. On January 21-22, 2008, the United Arab Emirates will host the latest round of the “Colombo Process,” a series of regional consultative processes focused on Asian contract migrant workers. We believe this meeting could provide an important stepping stone to establishing regional minimum standards regarding recruitment, employment, and protection of migrant workers.
December 17, 2007    Letter
Printer friendly version

Asian Migrant Workers Abandoned to Abuse
Migrants’ Groups Call for Key Reforms on International Migrants Day
Governments in Asia and the Middle East must take stronger action to fight rampant abuse against migrant workers, several migrants’ and human rights groups said in a joint letter on the eve of December 18, International Migrants’ Day.
December 17, 2007    Press Release
Printer friendly version

Pakistan: Dubai Should End Shutdown of Pakistani Channels
UAE Should Resist Pakistani Pressure; US Should Tell Ally It Opposes Closures
The Dubai government should allow Geo Television and ARY Digital, which broadcast from Dubai and function as Pakistan’s most independent and respected television stations, to resume operations immediately, Human Rights Watch said today.
November 20, 2007    Press Release
Printer friendly version

Exported and Exposed
Abuses against Sri Lankan Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates
The 131-page report documents the serious abuses that domestic workers face at every step of the migration process. It also shows how the Sri Lankan government and governments in the Middle East fail to protect these women. The report is based on 170 interviews with domestic workers, government officials, and labor recruiters conducted in Sri Lanka and in the Middle East.

HRW Index No.: C1916
November 14, 2007    Report
Also available in  sinhala 
Download PDF, 905 KB, 133 pgs
Purchase online
Read Press Release

Middle East: Sri Lankan Domestic Workers Face Abuse
Labor Laws Leave Migrant Women Exposed
Sri Lankan domestic workers face serious abuses, including violence, harassment and exploitation when they migrate to work in the Middle East, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch said the governments of Sri Lanka, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates should do more to protect women from labor exploitation and violence when they migrate to the Middle East, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
November 13, 2007    Press Release
Also available in  arabic  chinese  japanese  sinhala  spanish 
Printer friendly version

Guggenheim: Labor Rights at Risk at Abu Dhabi Branch
The Guggenheim Museum’s board of trustees should publicly pledge and actively ensure respect for international labor rights in the construction and maintenance of the museum’s latest branch in Abu Dhabi, Human Rights Watch said today.
July 19, 2007    Press Release
Also available in  arabic 
Printer friendly version

France: Abu Dhabi Louvre Must Respect Labor Rights
The French government should publicly pledge and actively ensure respect for international labor rights in the construction and maintenance of the Louvre’s planned branch in Abu Dhabi, Human Rights Watch said today.
July 19, 2007    Press Release
Also available in  arabic  french 
Printer friendly version

UAE: Draft Labor Law Violates International Standards
New Law Should Protect Right to Strike and Cover Domestic Workers
The United Arab Emirates’ proposed labor law falls far short of international standards for workers’ rights, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The law should be revised to protect workers’ rights to organize, bargain collectively and strike, and to cover excluded groups such as domestic workers.
March 25, 2007    Press Release
Also available in  arabic 
Printer friendly version

The UAE's Draft Labor Law: Human Rights Watch’s Comments and Recommendations
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is currently considering revisions to its main labor law. Like other countries in the Gulf, the UAE is heavily reliant upon the labor of migrant workers, primarily from South Asia. According to figures from 2005, 95 percent of the UAE’s labor pool, some 2.7 million workers, are migrants, many of whom work in the construction and domestic service industries. Meaningful reforms in the new labor law would have a significant and positive impact across South Asia and the Gulf and, if the final version of the law integrates key labor protections, it could become a leading model for the region.
March 25, 2007    Background Briefing
Also available in  arabic 

Audio Commentary: UAE - Draft Labor Law Violates International Standards
The current draft excludes domestic workers completely along with a few other categories of workers, including farm workers. (Run time: 3:12)
March 25, 2007    Audio Clip
Also available in  arabic 

Building Towers, Cheating Workers
Exploitation of Migrant Construction Workers in the United Arab Emirates
Based on extensive interviews with workers, government officials and business representatives, this 71-page report documents serious abuses of construction workers by employers in the United Arab Emirates. These abuses include unpaid or extremely low wages, several years of indebtedness to recruitment agencies for fees that UAE law says only employers should pay, the withholding of employees’ passports, and hazardous working conditions that result in apparently high rates of death and injury.

HRW Index No.: E1808
November 12, 2006    Report
Also available in  arabic 
Download PDF, 839 KB, 73 pgs
Purchase online
Read Press Release

UAE: Workers Abused in Construction Boom
New Report Highlights the Plight of Migrant Construction Workers
As the United Arab Emirates experiences one of the world’s largest construction booms, its government has failed to stop employers from seriously abusing the rights of the country’s half million migrant construction workers, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
November 12, 2006    Press Release
Also available in  arabic  german  hindi  urdu 
Printer friendly version

Exploitation of Migrant Construction Workers in the UAE
This photo essay on migrant workers in Dubai, was taken by Magnum photographer Abbas to accompany the report, "Building Towers, Cheating Workers".

November 12, 2006    Graphic

Audio Slideshow: UAE - Workers Abused in Construction Boom
As the United Arab Emirates experiences one of the world’s largest construction booms, its government has failed to stop employers from seriously abusing the rights of the country’s half million migrant construction workers.
November 12, 2006    Audio Slideshow
Also available in  arabic 

UAE: End Harassment of Rights Defenders
The authorities in the United Arab Emirates should end their harassment of some of the country’s most prominent human rights defenders and give their organizations the legal recognition they have sought, Human Rights Watch said today.
October 6, 2006    Press Release
Also available in  arabic 
Printer friendly version

UAE: Stop Harassment of Human Rights Defenders
Letter to UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan
Your government’s policies toward human rights defenders in the United Arab Emirates are an important measure of its commitment to respect and protect the basic rights of UAE residents. For this reason we are seriously concerned about recent steps taken by UAE authorities that seem targeted to harass and silence activists attempting to monitor human rights in the Emirates. We urge you to put an immediate stop to these policies, and to make clear that the government intends to protect the ability of human rights defenders to carry out activities without interference.
October 5, 2006    Letter
Also available in  arabic 
Printer friendly version

Domestic Workers Abused Worldwide
Report Spotlights Violence and Slavelike Conditions in 12 Countries
Domestic workers face a wide range of grave abuses and labor exploitation, including physical and sexual abuse, forced confinement, non-payment of wages, denial of food and health care and excessive working hours with no rest days, Human Rights Watch said in a new report today.
July 26, 2006    Press Release
Also available in  arabic  french  indonesian  spanish 
Printer friendly version

Swept Under the Rug
Abuses against Domestic Workers Around the World
This 93-page report synthesizes Human Rights Watch research since 2001 on abuses against women and child domestic workers originating from or working in El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Togo, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

HRW Index No.: C1807
July 26, 2006    Report
Download PDF, 470 KB, 95 pgs
Purchase online
Read Press Release


  1 2   Next >>


   
Display only
> Briefing Papers and Publications

Essential Background
Overview of human rights issues in United Arab Emirates


HRW Report Cover






Overview of Human Rights Developments

2008
2005



XML/RSS


HRW Logo Contribute to Human Rights Watch

Home | About Us | News Releases | Publications | About HRW | Info by Country | Global Issues | Campaigns | Free Mailing Lists | Community | Store | Film Festival | Search | Site Map | Contact Us | Press Contacts | Privacy Policy

© Copyright 2006, Human Rights Watch    350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor    New York, NY 10118-3299    USA