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The economy of the United Arab Emirates is the 5th largest in the Middle East, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$503 billion in 2022.
The United Arab Emirates, or simply the Emirates, is a country in Western Asia. It is located at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula and shares borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia, while having maritime borders in the Persian Gulf with Qatar and Iran. Abu Dhabi is the nation's capital, while Dubai, the most populous city, is an international hub.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the vice president, prime minister, and minister of defence of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as the ruler of Dubai. He is the third son of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, former vice president of the UAE and ruler of Dubai. Mohammed succeeded his brother Maktoum as vice president and ruler following the latter's death in 2006.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, colloquially known by his initials as MBZ, is the third president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi.
According to human rights organisations, the government of the UAE violates a number of fundamental human rights. The UAE does not have democratically elected institutions and citizens do not have the right to change their government or to form political parties. Activists and academics who criticize the regime are detained and imprisoned, and their families are often harassed by the state security apparatus. There are reports of forced disappearances in the UAE; many foreign nationals and Emirati citizens have been abducted by the UAE government and illegally detained and tortured in undisclosed locations. In numerous instances, the UAE government has tortured people in custody , and has denied their citizens the right to a speedy trial and access to counsel during official investigations.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) face legal challenges not experienced by other residents. Homosexuality is illegal in the UAE. Under UAE law, consensual same-sex sexual activity is punishable by imprisonment. As of 2021, there are no known arrests or prosecutions for same-sex sexual activity in the UAE since at least 2015. Individuals have been prosecuted for related offences, under public decency laws, for acts such as kissing in public, or for cross-dressing.
Human rights in Dubai are based on the Constitution and enacted law, which supposedly promise equitable treatment of all people, regardless of race, nationality or social status, per Article 25 of the Constitution of the United Arab Emirates. Despite this, Freedom House has stated: "Extreme forms of self-censorship are widely practiced, particularly regarding issues such as local politics, culture, religion, or any other subject the government deems politically or culturally sensitive. The Dubai Media Free Zone (DMFZ), an area in which foreign media outlets produce print and broadcast material intended for foreign audiences, is the only arena in which the press operates with relative freedom."
The United Arab Emirates has quite a close and friendly relationship with the US, being described as the United States' best counter-terrorism ally in the Gulf by Richard A. Clarke, the U.S. national security advisor and counter-terrorism expert. In terms of defence, the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces has been nicknamed "Little Sparta" by United States Armed Forces generals and former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis for its active role against extremists in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates also hosts the only United States border preclearance in the Middle East.
According to Human Rights Watch, there is substantial discrimination against women in the United Arab Emirates. The status of women has improved over the years. UAE performs better on metrics of gender equality than many other states in the Gulf region, and it has been making reforms to protect women's rights and empower women in different sectors. However, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report in 2021 confirming that the UAE needs to put more effort into improving women's status in the UAE and achieving progress on women's rights. It is estimated that in 2020, 3 million of the total UAE population – 9.9 million – is female.
The United Arab Emirates Five are five activists who were arrested in April 2011 on charges of breaking United Arab Emirates law of defamation by insulting heads of state, namely UAE president Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, vice president Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Abu Dhabi crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan through running an anti-government website that express anti-government views.
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, is a Dubai government organisation working on the UAE space programme, which includes various space satellite projects, the Emirates Mars Mission, the Emirates Lunar Mission, and the UAE astronaut programme. The centre actively works to promote space science and research in the region. The centre encompasses the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST).
The Emirates Centre for Human Rights (ECHR) is a British-based non-governmental organisation that promotes the defence of human rights in the United Arab Emirates. The ECHR also engages in advocacy to “build strong relationships with media, parliaments and other relevant organisations outside the UAE” and has organised three meetings in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in July 2012, March and July 2013.
Emirati nationality law governs citizenship eligibility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The law is primarily jus sanguinis. Foreigners may be naturalized and granted citizenship, but the process is limited due to the declining share of the Emirati population and fears of national identity loss. Gulf Cooperation Council citizens are allowed to live in the UAE without restriction and have the right of freedom of movement.
Ahmed Mansoor Al Shehhi is an Emirati blogger, human rights and reform activist arrested in 2011 for defamation and insults to the heads of state and tried in the UAE Five trial. He was pardoned by UAE's president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Mansoor was arrested again in March 2017 on charges of using social media platforms to threaten public order and publish false and misleading information. He was found guilty and convicted for threatening state security and given a prison sentence of 10 years.
Pegasus is spyware developed by the Israeli cyber-arms company NSO Group that can be covertly installed on mobile phones running most versions of iOS and Android. Pegasus is able to exploit iOS versions up to 14.7, through a zero-click exploit. As of 2022, Pegasus was capable of reading text messages, tracking calls, collecting passwords, location tracking, accessing the target device's microphone and camera, and harvesting information from apps. The spyware is named after Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek mythology. It is a Trojan horse computer virus that can be sent "flying through the air" to infect cell phones.
DarkMatter Group is a computer security company founded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2014 or 2015. The company describes itself as a purely defensive company, but several whistleblowers have alleged that it is involved in offensive cybersecurity, including on behalf of the Emirati government.
The Signals Intelligence Agency (SIA), formerly known as the National Electronic Security Authority (NESA), is the United Arab Emirates intelligence agency. In response to alleged cyber spying on opponents of Iran's best interests by the government of Iran during 2010 and 2011, the United States assisted the United Arab Emirates in late 2011 with establishing the National Electronic Security Authority (NESA) which is the UAE's equivalent to the US NSA. Created in 2012 through a Federal Decree Law, one of its official objective is to organize the protection of the UAE's communications network and information systems.
Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the son of the founder of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and serves as the National Security Advisor of UAE. He has previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor in 2013. He manages a business portfolio that supports national security interests and the UAE's opaque corporate sector.
Oman–Turkey relations are the foreign relations between Oman and Turkey. Turkey's historic relationship with Oman has wavered between friendly indifference and courtship, but mutual differences were set aside in 2002 when the new Turkish government embraced a policy of engagement with Oman.
Alaa Al-Siddiq was a UK-based Emirati poet and a prominent human rights activist.
References
- ↑ "Keep Calm and (Don't) Enable Macros" . Retrieved 4 October 2021.
- ↑ "Rights Violations in UAE under spotlight on BBC World Service" . Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ↑ "Rori Donaghy interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live" . Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ↑ "American Jailed in Dubai for Posting Spoof Video About Youth Culture Rori Donaghy" . Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ↑ "In the UAE, the future for those who continue to speak out looks bleak" . Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ↑ "Category: Business - Youth Diplomatic Service - UK" . Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ↑ Inside the UAE’s secret hacking team of American mercenaries, by Christopher Bing and Joel Schectman, January 30, 2019, Reuters