UAE WTO Conference: Arrests, Freedom Limits
Reports from global human rights organizations exposed incidents of arbitrary arrests and limitations on freedom of expression during the World Trade Organization conference in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Our World is Not for Sale (OWINFS) network, comprising over a dozen civil society groups, alleged that Abu Dhabi authorities detained human rights activists during the World Trade Organization negotiations and enforced stringent limits on freedom of speech.
The network stated that it had filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization following a series of events during the organization’s thirteenth Ministerial Conference in the capital, Abu Dhabi.
“The arrest, confiscation of materials, and severe restrictions on lobbying by civil society organizations endanger the safety of civil society participants,” she said.
Deborah James, coordinator of OWINFS, expressed that the limitations were without precedent, remarking, “In my eleven years of attending ministerial conferences, I’ve never seen such a degree of repression,” as cited by the American news outlet, Al-Monitor.
Conversely, the World Trade Organization issued a statement affirming its “firm commitment to collaboration with civil society organizations,” noting that Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala held discussions with representatives of the Civil Society Advisory Group on Tuesday.
Then, she held discussions with the Emirati president of the conference “to explore possible resolutions for the raised concerns.”
Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative, acknowledged her delegation’s awareness of the reports, informing reporters: “We have brought up these concerns with the WTO secretariat.”
The OWINFS statement came following the detention of several civil society organizers who participated in the WTO meeting, with incidents occurring separately since Sunday.
They include a 24-year-old member of a Norwegian fair trade organization, who claimed she was held in a room for an hour on Tuesday to take a photo inside the venue.
The activist, speaking anonymously for security reasons, recounted, “While photographing a colleague inside the venue, a security personnel suddenly appeared in the background.”
“I was stopped and told that it was illegal to take pictures of security personnel in the UAE,” she said.
The activist claimed that she repeatedly offered to delete the photo, but it was only released after World Trade Organization regulators intervened.
“We are all very afraid,” she said. The UAE bans protests and limits forms of expression that it considers subversive.
OWINSF stated that the infringements observed during the World Trade Organization discussions in Abu Dhabi extended beyond mere detentions.
Civil society members were prohibited from distributing information leaflets, carrying banners, and chanting about the negotiations.
One civil society member was refused entry to the venue for wearing a Palestinian kuffiyah, while others wearing national dress were permitted access, as reported by the consortium of human rights organizations.
