Doing our bit for Human Rights

What kind of country is the UAE?

According to Amnesty, it's the kind of country in which Sheik Issa bin Zayed al-Nahyan can be filmed shooting at, feeding sand to, beating, electrocuting with a cattle prod and then driving a motor car over and have sodomised Mohammad Shah Poor (an Afghan businessman with whom this charming member of the royal family and half-brother of the President had a dispute) and yet be acquitted on the grounds that his 'friends' drugged him, leading to this behaviour.

Here's some of the film:


The UAE also has a horrendous record on rape investigations, plays host to a large number of unpleasant UK tax exiles. This is what the US State department has to say about it:

There are no democratically elected institutions or political parties.

Problems remained in the Government's respect for human rights. Citizens do not have the right to change their government. The Government restricted freedom of speech and of the press. The press practiced self-censorship. The Government restricted free assembly and association, and it restricted religious freedom by banning proselytizing of Muslims. The Government restricted the rights of workers, many of whom were not protected by labor laws. There are no labor unions. There were poor working conditions for some laborers, failure to pay wages, and abuse of foreign domestic servants in an economy in which 98 percent of the private sector workforce is foreign. There were no independent human rights organizations. Trafficking in women as prostitutes and very young foreign boys as camel jockeys continue to be serious problems, despite government pledges to end these practices.

The law prohibits, under penalty of imprisonment, criticism of the Government, ruling families, and friendly governments, as well as other statements that threaten social stability; however, the law was rarely enforced because journalists practiced self-censorship.

The Constitution does not provide for freedom of assembly and association. There are no political organizations, political parties, independent human rights groups, or trade unions 

A de facto ban dating from 2002 prohibiting 10 prominent intellectuals from publishing opinion pieces in the country's Arabic and English language media continued. In 2002, six academics from Al Ain University were also banned from teaching. Some of these academics were also among the 10 intellectuals banned from publishing editorials. Academic materials destined for schools were censored. Students were banned from reading texts featuring sexuality or pictures of the human body.

So what am I saying? That it's not a great place, all in all. No free press and specific evidence of a lack of academic freedom. So how do we treat these infringements of human rights, especially ones which touch on education? We give His Highness Sheik Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (a relative of Torture Man and minister of the interior with responsibility for the police) an honorary doctorate in a ceremony conducted at the Abu Dhabi's Police HQ, where presumably the long arm of the law dealt with poor Mr Poor's case with such dedication.

in recognition of his many achievements.

His Highness Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is a pioneer in the realm of change and development and has made an outstanding contribution to society. The award was presented in honour of His Highness’ considerable contribution to urban development, in particular his leading role in designing security and safety measures for the protection of residents of, and visitors to, the UAE.

What a role model. And obviously the good Lieutenant's sterling work in the UAE is a core concern of The Hegemon. This honorary doctorate has nothing to do with the business it's currently conducting with the UAE police at all.