NBA’s UAE Games Accused of Concealing Violations, According to International Body

An international human rights organization has stated that hosting NBA games in the UAE may contribute to whitewashing the country’s image and divert attention away from the human rights violations occurring both domestically and internationally.

The NBA will host two preseason games in Abu Dhabi on October 4 and 6, 2024. The UAE follows a repressive policy that prevents any form of opposition, having sentenced many political dissidents and human rights defenders to long prison terms.

The UAE also fails to protect migrant workers, who make up 88% of the country’s workforce. Increasing evidence suggests that the UAE is supporting a violating party in the devastating Sudanese conflict, which has committed atrocities that amount to crimes against humanity.

Joey Shea, a researcher on the UAE at Human Rights Watch, stated: “While audiences enjoy the NBA games in Abu Dhabi, people are dying in Sudan, where credible accusations have been directed at the UAE for supporting violating parties. The preseason games will take place just a few kilometers from where human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor is held in solitary confinement.”

In November 2021, the NBA signed a long-term partnership agreement with the “Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi” to host NBA games in the UAE. The UAE hosts prestigious sports, entertainment, and cultural events to project an image of openness, while at the same time the government seeks to prevent investigations into its increasing and systematic human rights violations.

The organization claims that the UAE leverages these high-profile events to improve its image, even though it enforces a policy that disallows any domestic opposition and intensifies human rights violations internationally.

In the past decade, the UAE government has conducted a continuous assault on rights and freedoms, featuring unjust mass trials of more than 84 human rights advocates and political dissidents, leading to the total eradication of civil society.

Human Rights Watch stated that the NBA must take immediate steps to ensure that its preseason games are not used to distract attention from the harm associated with the UAE government both domestically and internationally.

It further stressed that the NBA is responsible for upholding human rights in all its operations. The “UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights” specify these responsibilities, which include the expectation for companies to implement specific policies and carry out due diligence to identify any risks that could negatively impact human rights. One such risk involves enhancing a country’s reputation in a manner that diverts attention from its human rights violations.

On September 30, Human Rights Watch sent a letter to the NBA expressing its concerns and urging the league to create a strategy to address human rights risks, particularly by publicly addressing abuses in the UAE. The organization also inquired whether the NBA had consented to any clauses that could limit its or its employees’ ability to speak out about these issues. As of now, the NBA has not responded.

Growing evidence indicates that the UAE has provided weapons to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, a group implicated in numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity, including their role in the ethnic cleansing campaign in Darfur.

Human Rights Watch discovered that both sides in the conflict have obtained new weapons, including those that were previously acquired by the Emirati military from the manufacturer.

The NBA coalition is urging the cancellation of its preseason games in Abu Dhabi to show solidarity with the people of Sudan.

On July 10, the Abu Dhabi Court of Appeals issued prison sentences ranging from 15 years to life for 44 human rights activists and political opponents in an unfair mass trial.

Concerns related to legal procedures include restrictions on access to case materials and information, limitations on legal assistance, judges coaching witnesses, violations of the principle of non bis in idem (prohibiting being tried twice for the same offense), credible allegations of serious violations and mistreatment, and the confidentiality of the sessions.

One of the convicted is the prominent human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor, who has been imprisoned in solitary confinement since March 2017.

Migrant workers are subjected to an oppressive sponsorship system that ties their visas to their employers, exposing them significantly to violations such as wage theft, exorbitant recruitment fees, and job stagnation.

Additionally, the UAE depends on inadequate measures to protect against heat, which can result in death or injury, including organ failure. The prohibition of labor unions in the UAE limits workers’ capacity to advocate for improved labor protections.

Shea stated, “The NBA, its officials, and its sponsors should use their presence in the UAE to speak openly about the UAE’s human rights record and also allow its players to do the same. There needs to be a discussion about the UAE’s role in Sudan, the release of Ahmed Mansoor, and the mistreatment of migrant workers.”