New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has expressed concerns over the early signs of zero tolerance towards criticism by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) hosting the next UN Climate Summit from November 30 to December 12 this year.
Speakers at a recent climate and health summit in UAE's capital Abu Dhabi were advised not to “criticize Islam, the government, corporations or individuals” or protest while in the country.
“The warning is a stark reminder of UAE's zero tolerance towards criticism. Since 2011, authorities have carried out an assault on freedom of expression and association, arresting and prosecuting scores of independent lawyers, judges, teachers, students, and activists. In late 2021, legal changes were introduced that have deepened the repression,” the HRW said in a statement on Friday.
File photo of Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, minister of industry and advanced technology of the United Arab Emirates Reuters“The importance of the annual UN Climate Summits could not be higher, as the world grapples with a climate emergency that's also a human rights crisis. And it doesn't help when host countries have deeply flawed human rights records.
“Point in case: the most recent climate summit #COP27 in Egypt. You'd think things couldn't get much worse, but this year the United Arab Emirates will host the event and the early signs aren't encouraging.”
The HRW said beyond the dangers for COP28 participants, there could be wider repercussions for people supporting ambitious climate action. “Reporting about health and climate harms of fossil fuels in the UAE – one of the world's largest oil producers – could be dangerous for those who dare to speak up.
“It also creates an ominous atmosphere for civil society organizations that play a critical role in calling out governments and corporations looking to undermine efforts to address the climate emergency.”
When asked whether criticism of the government's policies or businesses, including through protest, would be permitted during COP28, a UAE spokesperson recently said organizers would ensure “there are safe spaces where all voices may be heard.”
“It's hard to imagine any participant feeling reassured by this statement. The UAE's intolerance of criticism even extends to jailing foreign residents and foreign nationals visiting the country,” the HRW added.
In February, the UAE climate envoy and COP28 president-designate said the world needed a "course correction" to limit global warming, adding that he would lay out an inclusive and innovative roadmap.
"The world is playing catch-up when it comes to holding global temperatures down to 1.5 degrees and the hard reality is that global emissions must fall 43% by 2030," Sultan al-Jaber told the World Government Summit in Dubai, referring to the goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, Reuters reported.
Jaber also heads the state oil giant ADNOC and his appointment to lead the climate summit this year fuelled activists' worries that big industry was hijacking the world's response to the global warming crisis.
The UAE alongside other Gulf energy producers has called for a more realistic transition in which fossil fuels would keep a role in energy security while making commitments to decarbonisation.
The loss and damage fund, agreed to at the COP27 conference in Egypt last year, was hailed as a breakthrough for developing countries. But climate activists have since complained that the fund remains empty.
The COP28 summit will be the first global assessment of progress since the landmark Paris Agreement in 2015 to limit global warming.
