COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONSIDERS REPORT OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has considered the combined twelfth to sixteenth reports of the United Arab Emirates (CERD/C/ARE/12-17) on its implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Presenting the report, Abdul Rahim Yousif Alawadi, Assistant Minister for Legal Affairs and International Organizations of the United Arab Emirates, said that human rights were safeguarded under the Constitution and legislation of the United Arab Emirates. There was a healthy mixture of local traditions and international standards. The United Arab Emirates was a Muslim country, which respected fully the traditions of others. It sought to maintain an elevated standard of living for all its residents through education. Children were taught in various languages and human rights issues were integrated into school curricula. In the health sector, many hospitals all over the country provided services to all residents.
Many foreign workers had been attracted by the open society in the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Alawadi pointed out. Their large number also posed challenges, which the United Arab Emirates met with new legislation. The Government of the Federation as well as local government had adopted legislation in order to improve working conditions for foreign workers, including wage protection, working hours, health and social care, and protection from injuries. The Ministry of Labour also required employers to provide adequate living facilities, which were regularly inspected. Reparation and compensation was provided in case of injury or disease. Within the framework of protection for foreign workers, the United Arab Emirates had signed a number of agreements with neighbouring countries that were providing the workforce, inter alia, with India, Indonesia and the Philippines. Currently, legislation was being drafted regarding domestic workers.
Jean-Richard Prosper, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for the report of the United Arab Emirates, in preliminary concluding observations, said that the United Arab Emirates’ commitment to collaborate with United Nations bodies was obvious and should be commended. As to the migrant workers, legislation was not enough and it was important to ensure a transparent and aggressive compliance system to enforce all the existing laws. It seemed that the anti-discriminatory laws in the United Arab Emirates focused on religion, and the Committee recommended that racial discrimination be added to those texts. It might be more useful for every person having suffered a violation of his rights to directly refer to one specific law, other than trust the protection by the general umbrella of law. Concerning the system of sponsorship, the Committee encouraged the United Arab Emirates to continue working towards the protection of the foreign workers.
During the discussion, Experts raised various issues mostly pertaining foreign workers in the United Arab Emirates, which accounted for four fifths of the population. They were concerned about working conditions, housing and health standards as well as limitations to their freedom of movement. Given reports such as the non-payment of salaries or retention of passports by employers, which was illegal under United Arab Emirates law, it was surprising that the onus to get redress for those issues lay entirely with the foreigner. The situation of domestic workers that were not covered by the labour law was of particular concern. Questions were also asked pertaining to, inter alia, the treatment of “Biduns”; the granting of nationality to stateless persons; the explicit prohibition of discrimination in national legislation; and rules for the passing on of nationality to children.
The delegation of the United Arab Emirates also included representatives from the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations at Geneva; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of State for Federal National Council Affairs; the Ministry of Labour; the Ministry of Interior; the Ministry of Social Affairs; and the General Women’s Union.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. today it will begin consideration of the nineteenth periodic reports of Poland (CERD/C/POL/19).
Report of the United Arab Emirates
According to 2006 figures, the estimated population of the United Arab Emirates was around 4,229,000, the combined twelfth to sixteenth report of the United Arab Emirates (CERD/C/ARE/12-17) notes. Approximately 3.5 million persons lived in urban areas and 700,000 in remote parts of the State. United Arab Emirates nationals accounted for around 21 per cent of the population. Since its inception, the United Arab Emirates had experienced rapid economic and social growth such as was rarely achieved in developing, or even advanced, societies. The income from the oil and gas sector accounted for 37.3 per cent of gross domestic product and the United Arab Emirates used its oil wealth for social development. As to human trafficking, a total of 1,070 children working as child camel jockeys were repatriated after being identified as victims of trafficking. On 5 August 2005, the United Arab Emirates signed a cooperation agreement with the United Nations Children’s Fund providing for the identification and registration of child camel jockeys and their return to their home countries, local reintegration and social and psychological rehabilitation. Given the gravity of human trafficking offences and the fact that they offended against the human values on which the sharia – the main source of domestic law – was based, the legislature of the Emirates had introduced severe penalties for human trafficking, namely, a fixed term of five years imprisonment.
Concerning stateless residents, the so-called “Bidun”, a Ministerial Decision of 2006 tasked the Committee on the Status of Stateless Persons with the conduct of a census of persons entitled to nationality who were present in the State prior to 1971 when the Federation was established. A decree was issued granting the nationality to 1,294 persons. The Constitution of the United Arab Emirates recognized the right to health care and to easy access to methods to prevent, treat, and protect against, infectious diseases for everyone. Free public health services for all nationals and residents included premarital screening; breastfeeding promotion and support; monitoring the growth and development of under-fives; and prevention of hereditary diseases. Free drugs were dispensed by preventive health units for the treatment of infectious diseases that posed a threat to public health. These included the Anti-Malaria Programme; the Anti-Tuberculosis Programme; the Anti-AIDS Programme; and the Anti-Cancer Programme. The Federal Labour Code guaranteed equality among workers, regardless of their nationality, religion, political beliefs or any other distinguishing feature. It also defined working hours in accordance with international labour standards, which must be not longer than eight hours, interspersed with rest breaks to allow workers to eat and pray.
Presentation of the report
ABDUL RAHIM YOUSIF ALAWADI, Assistant Minister for Legal Affairs and International Organizations of the United Arab Emirates, presenting the report, said that human rights were safeguarded under the Constitution and legislation of the United Arab Emirates. It had also acceded to other relevant international conventions, namely the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Constitution provided for the sanctity of the persons and social justice and it respected civil rights, such as freedom of expression and religious rights. There was a healthy mixture of local traditions and international standards. Issues of major importance in the fight against discrimination were political participation, religious freedoms, women, health care, labour and human trafficking.
The United Arab Emirates was a Muslim country, which respected fully the traditions of others. The Government had provided for the construction of places of worship for other religions. The United Arab Emirates was proud of its record on women’s issues. Women took part in all sectors of society, which was not an exception, but the rule. Women represented 75 per cent in the enrolment of universities. They were also an important element in the armed forces. Women had been appointed to high levels in the judiciary, as well as in diplomatic services.
Mr. Alawadi said that the United Arab Emirates sought to maintain an elevated standard of living for all its residents through education. In the fight against illiteracy, children and also adults had been taught to read since the establishment of the United Arab Emirates. Children were taught in various languages and human rights issues were integrated into school curricula. In the health sector, many hospitals all over the country provided services to all residents.
Many foreign workers had been attracted by the open society in the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Alawadi pointed out. Their large number also posed challenges, which the United Arab Emirates met with new legislation. The Government of the Federation as well as local government had adopted legislation in order to improve working conditions for foreign workers, including wage protection, working hours, health and social care, and protection from injuries. The Ministry of Labour also required employers to provide adequate living facilities, which were regularly inspected. Reparation and compensation was provided in case of injury or disease. Within the framework of protection for foreign workers, the United Arab Emirates had signed a number of agreements with neighbouring countries that were providing the workforce, inter alia, with India, Indonesia and the Philippines. Currently, legislation was being drafted regarding domestic workers.
As part of the measures to address human trafficking, shelters had been established to protect women and children victims of human trafficking. In the shelters, women and children were provided with professional assistance. The main centre was in Abu Dhabi. The United Arab Emirates also welcomed the upcoming visits by the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on trafficking in persons, and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography to the country.
Islamic values were the basis of the society in United Arab Emirates, Mr. Alawadi noted. If the Emirates had achieved notable success in a short amount of time, it nevertheless recognized that there was still much to be done. In that framework, the Emirates welcomed the visit by the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in the near future. The United Arab Emirates were committed to further reinforce their achievements and were committed to benefit from the best practices in international sphere.
Questions by the Committee
PIERRE-RICHARD PROSPER, Committee Member and Rapporteur for the report of the United Arab Emirates, said that the United Arab Emirates had increased its collaboration with the United Nations, which the Committee applauded. The Committee also commended the United Arab Emirates that it was using its success to move forward and make a difference.
Many basic human rights for citizens were enshrined in the Constitution, Mr. Prosper observed. However, as a large part of the inhabitants of the United Arab Emirates were not citizens, it had to be debated how those rights were applied to them. The total number of inhabitants was 4.8 million, 3.2 million of whom were non-citizens. The large majority of the workforce were non-citizens, and the Committee would want to discuss how they were treated. In particular, the Committee had received information that a part of those foreign workers were living in conditions that were less than adequate. That needed to be examined and pro-active measures had to be put into place.
The report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants noted that migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates were often victims of squalid living conditions and non-payment of salary and were denied access to health services. More important than the legislation on those issues was their implementation. The United Arab Emirates had the financial resources to provide basic fundamental protection to migrant workers, and given its commitment to social justice this was an issue that had to be discussed, Mr. Prosper concluded
Other Experts expressed surprise at the assertion in the report that there was no need to act against discrimination because public life in the United Arab Emirates was not troubled by it. It was the Committee’s policy to never accept such assertions, and it took the stance that no country could claim that racial discrimination had been completely eliminated. Indeed, why had the United Arab Emirates decided to become a State Party of the Convention if that was not a relevant issue? What happened was that discrimination continued in everyday life without people consciously noticing it. If there was no legislation covering discrimination, it was not possible to prosecutor offenders. An Expert also underlined that it was one thing not to make a difference between two persons in law but another to explicitly prohibit discrimination. The society seemed to be stratified and a difference was made between United Arab Emirates nationals, Europeans and Asian nationals. It was also pointed out by Experts that, even if it could be claimed that there was no racial discrimination among citizens of the United Arab Emirates, surely the foreigners coming into the country might be bringing attitudes of racial discrimination with them? That would also need to be addressed.
In the United Arab Emirates, a fifth of all inhabitants were nationals and the rest non-nationals. As the majority of the persons in the workforce were non-nationals, special attention had to be paid to those migrant workers. An Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) source said that 99 per cent of the persons in the workforce were foreign nationals. Those 4 million foreign workers had contributed to the prosperity of the United Arab Emirates, so that the situation was one of mutual gain. The report said that activities that were often reported by the international press, such as the non-payment of salaries or retention of passports were illegal under United Arab Emirates law. Given that, it was surprising that the onus to get redress for those issues lay entirely with the foreigner.
An Expert pointed out that the United Arab Emirates had not ratified many important international treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture and, most importantly, the Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers. The United Arab Emirates had also not taken steps to promote the rights of refugees and stateless persons. The Bedouins were the indigenous peoples of the region and should not only be granted nationality, but be recognized as nationals in the Constitution. The Bidun (from Bedouin tribes) were stateless persons who came to the country illegally and suffered substantial discrimination on the labour market.
Experts said that criminalization of acts of racism had to be envisaged, although some provisions in law already existed, for example, against the incitement of hatred. There were also no statistics regarding the complaints and convictions on discrimination and Experts wanted to know what the role of the national Association of Human Rights was in that regard.
Turning to domestic workers, an Expert said that they were exposed to various types of abuses, including physical and sexual abuse. No law covered those workers. They were often not given rest days and their contact with their families was restricted.
Regarding foreign workers, their nationalities and their rights, Experts asked for more information on legislation on acquiring nationality; the extension of the tri-partite agreement on foreign workers with India and the Philippines to other countries; and the existence of trade unions.
Answers by the Delegation
Responding to those questions and comments, the delegation confirmed what Experts had said earlier, namely, that the United Arab Emirates was unique in its nature and that solutions had to be unique as well. As to the ratification of international conventions, the United Arab Emirates took the position that its national legislation should be brought into compliance with such conventions before signing them. It did not take its commitments lightly. In that connection, several laws were currently promulgated with the aim of countering discrimination.
All Courts applied Sharia law, except for the Civil Code which was a written law and had to be applied in all civil matters. As to the application of the Civil Code to foreigners, the delegation explained that the law was applied to foreigners in such issues as marriages, succession or divorce.
The delegation clarified that as the United Arab Emirates was a Party to the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, it was obliged to apply all its provisions. Legislation prohibiting discrimination, which was in line with the Convention, existed already. For example, publications that could incite hatred were forbidden and would be punished. The United Arab Emirates was also committed to amending its legislation in order to further bring it in line with the Convention, if that were necessary. The Constitution also stipulated that the human rights of all were protected, including citizens and non-citizens. In addition, foreigners enjoyed all rights and freedoms recognized in international Conventions.
The United Arab Emirates faced some challenges in accommodating foreign workers. The State had designated institutions to monitor the housing situation of workers, and over 13,000 inspection visits had been carried out already to ensure good health and security conditions in the housing provided for workers. If security was not guaranteed, the company could not bring workers onto their sites. Additional building of permanent villages that should accommodate over 15,000 foreign workers would start in the next few months. Regarding working conditions, 8,000 violations had been found by inspectors and measures had been taken against more than 240 employers. The services of the Ministry of Labour were not only limited to countries with which agreements existed, but were provided to all workers.
The delegation also clarified that as the Constitution guaranteed freedom of movement, and it was illegal to withhold a passport from anyone. Foreign workers handed over their passports to their employers of their own volition, as they feared loss or theft. At any time, they had the right to get their passports back. As to the system of sponsorship, a worker was free to move on after his contract had been completed. If the sponsor would not allow the worker to move on, the Ministry of Labour would step in and deal with the matter. That might involve finding a new sponsor. A worker was also allowed to travel abroad, as soon as he had fulfilled certain obligations. The Tri-Partite Agreement with India and the Philippines on foreign workers could be extended to other countries.
Turning to domestic workers, the delegation said that the State was aware of the difficulties faced by those workers. They were, however, not unprotected by law, even though labour law did not apply to them. Forms of exploitation were penalized by the overall umbrella of law. The United Arab Emirates did not tolerate the infliction of any kind of harm to domestic workers. If after such an incident a domestic worker turned to the police, he or she enjoyed protection which was even higher than in other States.
If Emirate women married foreigners, their children acquired the nationality of the father. The delegation added that certain marriages were not accepted. A legal study was being carried out in order to remedy the situation regarding the passing on of the nationality to children.
The delegation referred to the difference between Bedouins and Biduns: the Bedouins were the people that actually created the Emirates and were the original inhabitants. The Bidun, on the other hand, were stateless persons that did not have any documentation to prove their nationality. The Government was working to regularize the situation. Some of the nationalities of the Bidun had been found out, some residence permits had been granted and nationality had granted to over 1,200 of them. DNA technology was also used to prove parental relationship to other residents of the country or relationship to a specific tribe.
As to women serving in the armed forces, the delegation said that there were large numbers of women serving in the army as well as in the police.
Foreigners that were on the territory had come in with a work contract and were not illegally in the country. More than $20 billion remittances were sent from foreign workers to their countries of origin. There was no income tax on their revenue. About 10 per cent of those remittances went to Europe, 20 per cent to Arab countries and 40 per cent to East Asia.
Further Questions by the Committee
Experts asked whether the United Arab Emirates recognized racism in the United Arab Emirates and which sectors were most affected by it. An Expert noted that most of the judiciary in the country was made up by foreigners working on a contractual basis, and it was wondered whether that compromised their independence. An Expert pointed out that the Constitution granted certain rights, as it provided for freedom of expression and the freedom of movement, only “within the limits of the law”. Several juridical problems arose from that wording, above all the fact that it was not the law that emanated from the Constitution, but that the Constitution was defined by legislation. Other Experts disputed that assertion, saying that a law had to elaborate the Constitution.
On the issue of marriage and the passing on of nationality, Experts wanted to know what marriages the United Arab Emirates recognized as it had noted earlier that not all marriages were recognized.
Answers by the Delegation
Responding to these and other questions, the delegation agreed with the Experts that the Constitution had to lay down principles and the legislation had to put them into practice. Limits to freedom of movement included the state of emergency or measures to prevent diseases from spreading. Freedom of expression was limited when, for example, publications were aimed at inciting hatred.
The delegation did not understand that the fact that other Arab nationals from other countries were members of the judiciary would compromise the independence of the judiciary, as one Expert had implied. There were laws to ensure the independence of judges. The United Arab Emirates was benefiting from the experience of other Arab countries as it was a young country that had not had the time to fully build up its own judiciary so far. It was also noted that 98 per cent of the people working in the prosecutor’s office were nationals.
As to the naturalization of children that were of a father that was a non-citizen, the United Arab Emirates said that it was a complicated issue, as the United Arab Emirates did not recognize double nationality. A study was carried out examine the legal means necessary to deal with this issue.
Preliminary remarks of the Rapporteur
JEAN-RICHARD PROSPER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for the report of the United Arab Emirates, said that the United Arab Emirates’ commitment to collaborate with United Nations bodies was obvious and should be commended. The United Arab Emirates was progressing in the right direction. The Committee acknowledged that the United Arab Emirates had taken serious efforts to combat human trafficking and other crimes. The United Arab Emirates was in a unique situation as it was a prosperous country that found itself in a situation where its own nationals were in a minority, and that would be taken into consideration.
The Committee thought that there was a need for additional data on some issues, for example regarding the composition of the population by nationality. As to the migrant workers, Mr. Prosper said that legislation was not enough and it was important to ensure a transparent and aggressive compliance system to enforce all the existing laws. The United Arab Emirates should in a future report describe in more detail all the efforts it was undertaking in terms of inspection, violations found and convictions made.
It seemed that the anti-discriminatory laws in the United Arab Emirates focused on religion, and the Committee recommended that racial discrimination be added to those texts. Perhaps the mentioned umbrella of law was sufficient to protect people from violations of their law, but perhaps it was more useful for each and every person to directly refer to one specific law. Concerning the system of sponsorship, the Committee encouraged the United Arab Emirates to continue working towards the protection of the foreign workers, Mr. Prosper concluded.
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CERD09017E