The UAE to deport tens of thousands of Africans
In a new racist measure, the UAE authorities have taken steps to pave the way for the forced deportation of tens of thousands of Africans after preventing them from renewing work permits.
Ugandan government sources revealed that more than 75,000 Ugandans had become illegally residing in the UAE because they were prevented from renewing their initial work permits.
The sources indicated that most of them travelled on visitor visas for one month, and when they got there, they got jobs, but the UAE authorities refused to renew their permits.
According to the sources, about 100,000 Ugandans live in the UAE, and only 25,000 went there legally through licensed recruitment agencies.
They added that 75,000 are there illegally, while 1,500 are in various detention centres.
Last month, two international human rights organizations presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council, at its 51st session in Geneva, the UAE’s racial discrimination against black immigrants.
The two organizations said the UAE is proud to send an astronaut to space and promote itself while discriminating against black immigrants and violating their rights.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor stated in an oral statement that the UAE government has failed to hold its security services accountable for committing egregious violations against migrant workers when it is proud of sending an astronaut to space and appointing a minister for happiness and quality of life.
The Euro-Med Monitor added that it is disappointing to witness in 2022, in societies that are supposed to be civilized and educated, the practice of appalling forms of discrimination and racism towards migrant workers who contributed to building the country’s economy and infrastructure.
In his speech, the Euro-Mediterranean Programs and Communications Officer, Mohamed Shehadeh, said that the UAE police carried out a comprehensive and arbitrary campaign against African migrants last year, detaining and deporting at least 375 of them.
He added, “These immigrants were living and working in the country legally, but their only crime was the colour of their skin.”
In cooperation with the International Organization for Impact on Human Rights Policies, the Euro-Med Monitor revealed grave violations, including imprisonment, torture, and the forced deportation of hundreds of African migrant workers in the UAE in June 2021.
The two organizations said in a report entitled “They told us that they hate black Africans”, based on more than 100 testimonies of migrant workers from Cameroon, Nigeria and Uganda, that the UAE authorities carried out on 24 and 25 June 2021 a campaign of massive incursions and arrests against hundreds of African workers in the country, and detained them illegally and tortured them before they were deported en masse, apparently on racial grounds.
In their speech before the United Nations Council, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and GEWA called on the UAE authorities to take a clear and public stance against the racist targeting of black-skinned migrants and to ensure adequate compensation for anyone who suffered from discriminatory and inhuman treatment.
