mafiwastafor workers' rights in the United Arab Emirates
Latest News - December 12th 2008: Don't Believe The Hype
March 2006 from Associated Press: "Hours after a human rights group blasted the United Arab Emirates for what it called wanton abuses of Asian workers, the country's labor minister said Thursday a law in the works will give laborers the right to form trade unions and bargain collectively. "
December 2008: The UAE rejects all recommendations relating to the introduction of trade unions, the right to strike, the right to freedom of association or the right to collective bargaining.
This is just one of many examples of the UAE's dismayingly effective 'promise and don't deliver' strategy for dealing with international criticism. Despite its earnest pledges, the UAE has been consistently recalcitrant in its attitude to human rights. Mafiwasta is therefore deeply skeptical of the pledges made by UAE representatives to the UN's Universal Periodic Review Committee, and would point to the pledges it did not make (see below) as evidence that the state remains a serial violator of basic and fundamental human rights.
December 11th 2008: UN Body Releases UAE Human Rights Recommendations
The UAE's human rights record was recently examined by the UN's Universal Periodic Review mechanism. The report from the session is available here. The report includes a list of recommendations, which the UAE can choose to either 'support', 'examine and provide responses in due time', or 'not support'. The UAE did not support the following recommendations:
1) Take further steps to eliminate racial discrimination and to promote freedom of religion and belief.
2) Adopt measures that allow for the creation of associations, trade unions and envisage the creation of political parties.
3) Abolish the death penalty.
4) Withdraw its reservations to international conventions relating to equality for women.
5) Promote tolerance of homosexuality.
6) Allow the rights to strike and to bargain collectively.
7) Expand the provisions of national labour law to cover domestic workers.
8) Introduce legislative sanctions for marital rape.
The Mafiwasta briefing document which accuses the UAE of systematic racial discrimination against its migrant population is available here.