Human rights in Dubai

Human rights in Dubai are based on a legal framework that provides for the equitable treatment of people, regardless of race, nationality or social status, per Article 25 of the Constitution of the United Arab Emirates. However, many of the 250,000 foreign labourers in the city live in conditions described by Human Rights Watch as being "less than human." [ [http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/uae1106/ Human Rights Watch - Building Towers, Cheating Workers: Exploitation of Migrant Construction Workers in the United Arab Emirates] ] [ [http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/uae1106/uae1106web.pdf Human Rights Watch - Building Towers, Cheating Workers: Exploitation of Migrant Construction Workers in the United Arab Emirates - PDF] ] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4861540.stm UAE to Allow Construction Unions] ] BBC has reported that "local newspapers often carry stories of construction workers allegedly not being paid for months on end. They are not allowed to move jobs and if they leave the country to go home they will almost certainly lose the money they say they are owed. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3694894.stm "Workers' safety queried in Dubai"] , by Julia Wheeler, "BBC News", September 27, 2004] Additionally, most of the workers are forced to give up their passports upon entering Dubai, making it very difficult to return home. In September 2005, the Minister of Labour ordered one company to pay unpaid salaries within 24 hours after workers protested, and published the name of the offending company. [ [http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/05/09/20/182637.html Ministry cracks the whip] Gulf News, 20 Sep 2005]

In December 2005, the Indian consulate in Dubai submitted a report to the Government of India detailing labor problems faced by Indian expatriates in the emirate. The report highlighted delayed payment of wages, substitution of employment contracts, premature termination of services and excessive working hours as being some of the challenges faced by Indian workers in the city. On 21 March 2006, workers at the construction site of Burj Dubai, upset over bus timings and working conditions, rioted: damaging cars, offices, computers, and construction tools. [ [http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2006/March/theuae_March745.xml&section=theuae Labour unrest hampers Burj Dubai work] Khaleej Times (AP report), 22 March 2006] [ [http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2006/March/theuae_March779.xml&section=theuae&col= "Burj Dubai workers who protested may be sued"] Khaleej Times, 24 March 2006] [ [http://www.gulfnews.com/indepth/labour/index.html LABOUR IN THE UAE] Gulf News articles on Labour Law in the UAE, protests, etc]

The city's discriminatory legal system and unequal treatment of foreigners has been brought to light by its alleged attempts to cover up information on the rape of Alexandre Robert, a 15 year old French-Swiss national, by three locals, one of whose HIV-positive status was hidden by the authorities for several months [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/world/middleeast/01dubai.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5087&em&en=a89b7518628ebf83&ex=1194062400 In Rape Case, a French Youth Takes On Dubai] . New York Times. Nov 1, 2007] and by the recent mass imprisonment of migrant laborers, most of whom were from India, on account of their protests against poor wages and living conditions. [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indian_workers_strike_for_better_deal/articleshow/2510594.cms Indian workers strike for better deal] . Times of India. Times Network. Nov. 2, 2007]

The alleged labour injustices in Dubai have attracted the attention of various Human Rights groups, which have tried to persuade the government to become a signatory to two of the International Labour Organization's 7 core conventions, which allows for the formation of labour unions. The Dubai government has denied any kind of labour injustices and has stated that the watchdog's (Human Rights Watch) accusations were misguided [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4861540.stm UAE to allow construction unions] "BBC News", March 30, 2006, retrieved April 24, 2006] . Towards the end of March 2006, the government announced steps to allow construction unions. UAE labour minister Ali al-Kaabi said: "Labourers will be allowed to form unions."

Prostitution, though illegal by law, is conspicuously present in the emirate because of an economy that is largely based on tourism and trade. Research conducted by the American Center for International Policy Studies (AMCIPS) found that women from the former USSR and Ethiopian women are the most common prostitutes, as well as women from some African countries, while Indian prostitutes are part of a well organized trans-Oceanic prostitution network. [cite web
url = http://www.amcips.org/PDF_books/BookIV22.pdf
title = Globalising Prostitution in the Middle East
accessdate = 2007-05-10
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first = Dan
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quote = ] A 2007 PBS documentary entitled "Dubai: Night Secrets" reported that prostitution in clubs is tolerated by authorities and many foreign women work there without being coerced, attracted by the money. [Mimi Chakarova. [http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2007/09/dubai_sex_for_s.html Dubai: Night Secrets] , "PBS Frontline", 13 September 2007] [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/06/world/middleeast/06dubai.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&hp&oref=slogin New York Times - Fearful of Restive Foreign Labor, Dubai Eyes Reforms] ] [ [http://www.metimes.com/International/2007/11/07/strike_rages_on_at_worlds_tallest_tower_in_dubai/3172/ Middle East Times - Strike rages on at world's tallest tower in Dubai] ] [ [http://www.arabianbusiness.com/503834-arabtec-strike-deal-raises-costs-1 ArabianBusiness.com - Arabtec strike deal raises costs 1%] ] [ [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B1385BB2-37D4-4B32-A4D2-E547E7EAA645.htm Al Jazeera English Burj Dubai owners say strike over] ]

Zero tolerance drug policy

Dubai has been in the news lately because of draconian penalties meted out to locals and foreigners found in possession of often very small quantities of illegal drugs. Drugs found in urine or blood testing also count as "possession" under UAE law. A Swiss man was sentenced to four years in prison after three poppy seeds - from a bread roll purchased at a UK airport - were detected on his clothing at Dubai International Airport. Most recently, BBC DJ Grooverider (real name: Raymond Bingham) was sentenced to four years in prison after a pair of jeans in his luggage was found to contain just over 2 grams of marijuana. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7253514.stm BBC News: Radio 1 DJ Jailed on Drug Charge] ] The Dubai authorities have been known to stop tourists on layovers the airport and are now using extremely sensitive electronic detection equipment, including urine and blood screening, to search for traces of illegal substances. Keith Brown, a British national and father of three, was arrested on September 17, 2007 after authorities claim to have discovered a speck of cannabis on the bottom of one of his shoes. According to an article in the "Daily Mail", [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=512815&in_page_id=1770&ito=1490 Daily Mail: Briton jailed for four years in Dubai after customs find cannabis weighing less than a grain of sugar under his shoe] ] the alleged illegal substance was smaller than a grain of sugar - weighing approximately .003 grams. He has also been sentenced to four years in prison. Another UK citizen, Tracy Wilkinson, was arrested and accused of being a "drugs baroness" in 2005 after authorities found codeine in her blood. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/southern_counties/4200952.stm BBC: Bad back led to jail torment] ] Wilkinson has a bad back and received an injection of codeine at a Dubai hospital. She ended up spending two months in a cell where she contracted dysentery, head lice and an infestation of fleas before she was eventually released on bail. German television producer Cat Le-Huy was arrested in January 2008 for possessing a bottle of the over-the-counter hormone sleep aid Melatonin. [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/tv-executive-faces-jail-in-dubai-for-barely-visible-cannabis-speck-785595.html The Independent: TV executive faces jail in Dubai for barely visible cannabis speck] ] Authorities claimed that some dirt in Mr. Le-Huy's luggage was hashish. A Vancouver resident named Bert Tatham was arrested at Dubai International Airport returning home from Afghanistan (where he was ironically working with farmers to try and convince them not to grow poppies). The anti-narcotics officer was found to have two dead poppy bulbs and a tiny amount of hashish melted into the seams of one of his trouser pockets. [http://money.aol.ca/article/uae-canadian-pardoned-2nd-writethru-bgt/101850/ AOL Canada: Canadian jailed in drug case in Dubai is pardoned by ruler of the emirate] ] After spending more than 10 months in prison, he was eventually pardoned by U.A.E. President H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

References

External Links

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/gallery/2008/oct/08/1?lightbox=1 Inside Dubai's labor camps] - Picture gallery from The Guardian of South Asian slave labor in Dubai