UAE Tops List for ‘Cross-Border Repression’ Incidents, Report Finds
An international human rights group has ranked the UAE as the foremost government engaging in “transnational repression” crimes, targeting dissident citizens and activists beyond their borders.
According to Human Rights Watch, governments globally are extending their reach to violate the rights of their citizens, past or present, to suppress dissent. Such actions hinder individuals from seeking safety for themselves and their families.
The organization emphasized the importance of governments and international entities tackling the issue often termed “transnational repression “while maintaining a primary focus on safeguarding human rights.
In a 46-page report titled “‘We Will Seek You’: An Insight into Governments’ Repression of Citizens Abroad,” the organization presented a rights-focused examination of governments’ practices in targeting dissidents, activists, political adversaries, and individuals residing beyond their borders.
The report contains 75 documented cases from more than 20 governments, including Ethiopia, Azerbaijan, the UAE, Iran, Bahrain, Belarus, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Algeria, South Sudan, Rwanda, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and China, as well as Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, and Egypt. These cases serve as a snapshot of incidents across four regions, rather than an exhaustive compilation.
Human Rights Watch has reviewed killings, deportations, kidnappings, enforced disappearances, collective punishment of relatives, exploitation of consular services, and digital attacks.
The report also highlights governments’ targeting of women fleeing injustice and the misuse of Interpol by governments.
“Governments, the United Nations, and other international organizations should recognize transnational repression, as a human rights threat,” said Bruno Stagno, senior advocacy officer at Human Rights Watch.
“It must prioritize bold political responses that respect the human rights framework and defend the rights of affected groups and individuals,” he added.
The organization stressed that transnational repression, can broadly curtail the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association for targeted individuals or those fearing targeting.
The cases reviewed by Human Rights Watch show how governments target human rights defenders, journalists, civil society activists, political opponents, and others they consider a threat.
Government officials issued a chilling warning to an opponent, stating, “We will find you and we will kill you.” Shortly afterward, he vanished, and his location remains undisclosed to this day.
Many victims are asylum seekers or refugees in new countries. Government officials told one victim, from the same country, that he would “die” if he spoke out. Families of targeted people who remain in their home country may also become victims.
One of the targets said: “If they can’t arrest you, they arrest your relatives.”
After illegal renditions to their country of citizenship, some victims have been forcibly returned to the governments they had originally fled from.
Governments engage in kidnappings and forced disappearances, with individuals being abducted from their residences or even during air travel. These disappearances often result in grave human rights violations, including torture and extrajudicial killings.
Certain governments attempt to repatriate individuals through INTERPOL by issuing a “Red Notice,” which is a non-binding request to the security agencies of all INTERPOL member nations to locate and temporarily detain a person.
It also targeted family members of dissidents who had not left the country in retaliation for dissidents’ activities abroad. Relatives have been subjected to harassment, threats, arbitrary arrest and detention, travel bans, or even murder.
Moreover, it used spyware to monitor a human rights defender or harass someone online who was openly critical of the government. These digital forms of transnational repression, involve gross rights violations, including violations of the right to privacy.
Human Rights Watch emphasized that governments need to prioritize the needs of victims in addressing such forms of repression. Specifically, they must recognize the peril and apprehension faced by refugees.
Governments should publicly condemn transnational repression, when feasible, thoroughly investigate and prosecute the perpetrators, and enact new laws if current legislation is inadequate.
“The United Nations should appoint a special rapporteur on transnational repression to report on governments’ efforts to combat this repression. INTERPOL should establish binding human rights standards for member governments to issue Red Notices, and scrutinize the situation of governments with poor human rights records when they issue Red Notices.”
Stanio underscored Human Rights Watch’s findings on the widespread impact of transnational repression on victims and their families worldwide. He urged governments to allocate resources for understanding and addressing transnational repression, within their territories, and to protect refugees.
