UAE’s Human Rights Record Should Be Addressed at Bonn Climate Talks

Global Concerns over UAE’s Human Rights Record

The detention of human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has raised concerns over the UAE’s human rights record. Mansoor has been held in arbitrary detention since March 2017, and his imprisonment has been an ominous message to civil society and Indigenous peoples ahead of the November climate summit, COP28, to be hosted by the UAE.

A Call to Action from Bonn Climate Talks

As governments prepare for the climate summit, COP28, in Bonn, the fate of Mansoor and the many other arbitrarily detained human rights activists should worry these governments. Yet the UAE is also the current president of the summit, creating an ethically challenging situation for the governments attending the summit.

Joe Stork, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Division, has called on governments attending the summit to urge the Emirati authorities to end their persecution of rights defenders and free them. Governments must take every opportunity, in public comments and private huddles, to address the issue.

Risk to the Success of COP28

The persecution of rights defenders and peaceful dissidents has a chilling effect on the climate summit that aims to deliver solutions for an increasingly urgent climate crisis, including a reference to phasing out all fossil fuels in the COP28 outcome document. If the UAE continues to oppress voices of dissent, participants at COP28 may stay silent for fear of reprisals.

The UAE’s doubling down on silencing critics is noteworthy; a recent warning by the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department stated that “harming the reputation of the state and its institutions” could incur a 5-year jail term and a 500,000 Dirham fine. This warning comes on top of the 10-year prison sentence given to Mansoor, a respected human rights activist.

Call to Action

The success of COP28 in achieving ambitious climate change goals and the lives of Ahmed Mansoor and other unjustly imprisoned rights defenders depend on demanding that the UAE honors human rights and civic space. This includes urging the authorities to end their persecution of activists and discouraging self-promotion of the UAE as a tolerant, rights-respecting country until the state moves from falsehood to reality.

The global community must pressure and hold accountable the UAE authorities to promote an environment of transparency, open dialogue and cooperation in the lead up to COP28. Failure to do so risks the success of the summit, not only in addressing the climate emergency but in upholding the basic human rights of all individuals.

As a global community, we must stand together to uphold human rights and the freedom of speech and assembly for all people in the UAE and globally.