As host of UN COP28 climate talks, the autocratic UAE is now allowing in critics it once kept out
COP28 climate talks filed in Sunday for another day of talks, they found themselves greeted by a rare sight in the United Arab Emirates — a protest.
From activism about the Israel-Hamas war to environmental issues, activists allowed into the UAE can demonstrate under strict guidelines in this autocratic nation.
Others from organizations long banned by the country also have been let in, providing them some the opportunity for the first time in about a decade to offer criticism — though many acknowledge it may see them never allowed back in the country.
«One of our major issues with COP28 is the fact that the UAE government is using this to burnish its image internationally and the fact that limited protests are allowed… is a good thing,» said Joey Shea, now on her first trip to the Emirates as a researcher focused on the country at Human Rights Watch. «But at the end of the day, it helps to create this very false image that the UAE does have respect for rights when in fact it does not.»
The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms led by Abu Dhabi's ruler, bans political parties and labor unions.
All power rests in each emirate's hereditary ruler. Broad laws tightly restrict speech and nearly all major local media are either state-owned or state-affiliated outlets.
Laws also criminalize the very few protests that take place by foreign laborers over working conditions and unpaid salaries, which can see them get partial settlements but then be promptly deported.
The Emirates' overall population of more than 9.2 million people is only 10% Emirati.
The rest are expatriates, many of them low-paid laborers seeking to send money back home to their families, skewing the country's gender balance to nearly 80% male.
