NEW YORK (Dispatches) – The UN has painted a grim picture of the human rights situation in the United Arab Emirates, raising concern over the torture of prisoners, injustice against foreign workers and discrimination of women in the Persian Gulf state.
A report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has shed light on the suppression of freedom of expression and the undue influence of executive authorities and security services on the judiciary in the Emirati state.
The 13-page report was prepared on January 5 and is expected to be presented at the 29th session of the Human Rights Council, which will run from January 15 to 26.
"UAE authorities regularly subject those that violate their restrictions to torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and unfair trial procedures," the UK-based Emirate Centre for Human Rights, wrote  on its Twitter page.
In its report, the UN body expressed regret over the UAE's failure to establish a national human rights institution in accordance with international standards.
The report argued that the justice system in the UAE is complex and impedes migrant workers and the stateless from bringing their grievances to justice.
On free speech, the UN body cited imprisonment and trials for people who had simply expressed their views or criticized institutions.
The commission also condemned arrests and forced disappearances outside the legal framework and the transfer of people to secret prisons under the pretext of being accused of "terrorism".
UAE authorities have used torture to force defendants to confess to the charges against them and deprive them of healthcare, the report said
Civil society groups are expected to submit later this month at the Palace of Nations in Geneva documents detailing rights abuses in the UAE.
Earlier in July 2017, the UAE accused Alkarama Foundation, a Geneva-based organization which provides pro-bono legal assistance to victims of human rights violations, of having "connections to terrorism.”
The organization had sought consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), allowing it to speak on behalf of clients at reviews of the country’s human rights records at the UN.
However, Alkarama’s application was rejected after a draft resolution spearheaded by the UAE and backed by Algeria, India and the United States was passed at an ECOSOC meeting in July.
At a UPR pre-session in Geneva last month, the UAE’s representative to the UN refused to directly address criticisms made by civil society groups - including Alkarama - on the human rights situation in the country.
Joe Odell, a spokesperson for the International Campaign for Freedom in the United Arab Emirates, which participated in the UPR pre-session and has filed a submission, told the Middle East eye news portal that the UNHRC report was a "damning indictment” of the UAE’s recent human rights record.
"In recent years, state repression in the UAE has been significantly ramped up with practices of arbitrary detention, torture and enforced disappearances becoming increasingly commonplace,” Odell said. "The Emirati authorities have continued to violate the basic rights of those within its borders with apparent impunity.”
"This latest report further underlines the needs for reforms in the country whereby political, civil and legislative processes are brought in line with international human rights legislation,” he said.
 
Dubai special counter-terrorism police cadets mock an urban hostage rescue mission in Dubai in April 2009.