The Human Freedom Index exposes UAE violations and Includes it in the “Not Free” countries

The recently released Freedom House report to measure the level of democracy and freedom around the world for the year 2018 included UAE as a not free country and in a very low ranking globally, exposing its regime’s human rights abuses and restricting public freedoms.

The report included a classification of countries on the basis of freedom, divided into “free,” “partly free” and “not free,” depending on the points scored from 100 points of criteria such as: the conduct of the electoral process, political pluralism, government performance, freedom of expression and belief, the formation and rights of city organizations, the rule of law, and individual rights.

The UAE has only won 17 points out of 100, reflecting its violation of political freedoms, civil rights and lack of democracy.

2018 represented the 13th year in a row in which the world suffered a marked decline in freedoms and democracy following the rise of populist political forces in many countries, which rejected the basic principles of separation of powers and targeted minorities with discriminatory policies.

Finland ranked the first in the world in civil liberties and rights, followed by Norway in second place and Sweden in third place followed by the Netherlands in fourth place and Canada ranked fifth, while the United States ranked 52 on the list.

The report also lists the worst-case countries with the lowest political and civil liberties points. These are Central African Republic, Tajikistan, Libya, Uzbekistan, Somalia, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Equatorial Guinea, North Korea, South Sudan, Eritrea, Turkmenistan and Syria.

But in some countries, such as Malaysia, Ethiopia, Angola, Ecuador and Armenia, the report has led to positive development, where democracy has put pressure on leaders leading to a better standard of living.
In its detailed report, Freedom House referred to developments in some Middle Eastern and North African countries where authoritarian regimes continued to suppress opposition in 2018, even democratic states suffered from self-defeating crises.

International human rights organizations strongly condemned the UAE’s black human rights record that it has been practicing since 2011 against all its critics, including activists, judges, lawyers, academics and journalists, through arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and ill-treatment.

The UAE is deeply involved in human rights abuses against individuals, espionage and infiltrations against citizens and expatriates.