Andrew is enjoying a break this week. I’m Jan Kooy, taking care of the Daily Brief in the next few days.Should a deeply repressive country get to host UN climate talks?No, that would be an extremely bad idea.So how on earth did the United Arab Emirates become host of the upcoming and crucial United Nations Climate Change Conference,...
As the next host of COP28, scheduled for the end of 2023, the United Arab Emirates has become a mecca of international sanctions evasion, and both Russians and Syrians are taking advantage. From November 30 to December 12, 2023, the United Arab Emirates Confederation will host COP28. Not only is Dubai, which is considered a...
Security guards, cleaners and hospitality staff at Dubai’s Expo 2020 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are allegedly working in highly abusive conditions that may amount to forced labour, according to a human rights group. Migrant workers employed at the international fair in the UAE – taking place now after being delayed by Covid – allege they...
Human Rights Violations at Home, Abroad (Beirut) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was responsible for serious human rights violations at home and abroad in 2020, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2021. The government held peaceful critics in jail, fostered labor abuses against low-paid migrant workers, and contributed to abuses abroad in Libya and Yemen....
The Office of Wallonia’s Parliament is undergoing a reshuffle after a recent expense scandal caused some of its most senior figures to quit their roles. After the exit of Mouvement Réformateur (MR) MPs Jacqueline Galant and Sybille de Coster-Bauchau, the liberal party will again be represented by two women: Sabine Laruelle and Rachel Sobry. Laruelle...
The Gulf oil and gas exporter is going big on renewable energy investment and food security, while expanding hydrocarbon production. If there was a sign the United Arab Emirates is taking its role as host of the next UN climate talks seriously, the 1,073 delegates it registered to attend the Cop27 summit in Egypt would be it....
Vulnerable Ukrainian women and children are likely being trafficked into sex slavery and domestic servitude in the United Arab Emirates, defence experts have warned. Millions of Ukrainians have fled the war-torn country since Russia began its brutal advance in February, leading to increased concerns about refugees being susceptible to trafficking. Some are reported to have been targeted...
Politicians and activists are calling for Dubai and the United Arab Emirates to be blacklisted over its failure to observe sanctions against Russian oligarchs and stem the flow of dirty money flowing through the UAE. Western countries including the US and UK hit Russia with stringent sanctions in February after Russia invaded Ukraine. This prompted some oligarchs to...
Call to Blacklist Dubai and UAE Over ‘Dirty Money’ and Oligarchs. Politicians and activists are calling for Dubai and the United Arab Emirates to be blacklisted over its failure to observe sanctions against Russian oligarchs and stem the flow of dirty money flowing through the UAE. Western countries including the US and UK hit Russia with...
Two British men who spent time in detention in the United Arab Emirates have testified in Paris that an Emirati security official who is now the president of Interpol was responsible for their alleged torture. Matthew Hedges, an academic imprisoned in the UAE for seven months on espionage charges he denies, and Ali Issa Ahmad, who was detained...