“UAE’s Human Rights Record Threatens Success of Upcoming Climate Meeting: Call for Urgent Reforms”

Amnesty International Urges Action on Human Rights in UAE Ahead of Climate Conference

Amnesty International has called on states participating in the climate meeting in Bonn, which will set the agenda for the COP28 in Dubai later this year, to push the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to improve its human rights record. In its briefing, “The Human Rights Situation in the UAE ahead of COP28”, Amnesty warned that key human rights risks in the UAE could threaten the success of COP28, including the suppression of the right to freedom of expression and a closure of civic space, digital espionage and monitoring, and the country’s opposition to the rapid phasing out of fossil fuels.

“A successful COP28 is vital, for human rights and for the planet. This year we must see a commitment by all states to rapidly phase out all fossil fuels and to keep us on track to avoid spiralling climate change,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. Amnesty urged the UAE to change its repressive policies and allow civil society to participate freely and without fear within the conference, especially as the country takes on the presidency of COP28.

Shuttered Civil Society and Digital Surveillance

Civil society remains conspicuously absent in the UAE, where Emirati law forbids criticism of “the state or the rulers” and imposes punishments, including life imprisonment or the death penalty, for association with any group opposing “the system of government” or for vague “crimes” such as “damaging national unity” or “the interests of the state”. While the government has announced a commitment to transition to clean energy, the actual approach being taken does not aim to reduce fossil fuel production. Instead, it often involves promoting technologies, such as carbon capture, utilization and storage, which are unproven at scale, to limit emissions.

Moreover, the Emirati government has long sought to spy on human rights defenders and other critical voices. Amnesty International has previously documented that the UAE is likely behind the digital surveillance of multiple public figures, and investigations by journalists and civil society organisations suggest that surveillance is more widespread.

A Critical Moment

COP28 is the 28th annual convening of the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and will take place in Dubai in November and December this year. Amnesty’s call comes in the wake of COP27 held in Egypt last year amid a brutal, sustained crackdown on dissent by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government. The Egyptian authorities’ disregard for human rights led to pre-conference violations as well as violations within the conference’s UN-run areas, which are supposed to be safe from government intimidation and surveillance.

States should make their voices heard regarding the situation in the UAE, in order to ensure that a vital world conference proceeds according to its goals. As the human rights situation in the country threatens to undermine the credibility of COP28, the UAE should use its presidency as an opportunity to improve its record on human rights, in addition to taking serious measures to mitigate the effects of climate change. A successful COP28 – one that involves wide participation by civil society and ambitious targets for the phasing-out of fossil fuels – is a critical need that must not be ignored.

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