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United Arab Emirates

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"UAE" redirects here. For other uses, see UAE (disambiguation).
الإمارات العربيّة المتّحدة
Al-Imārāt al-‘Arabīyah al-Muttahidah
United Arab Emirates
File:Uae coa.png
(In Detail) (In Detail)
National motto: none
Official language Arabic
Capital Abu Dhabi
Largest City Abu Dhabi
Area 83,600 km²
Population
 - Total (2004)
 - Density 		Ranked 119th
4.3 million
46/km²
HDI (2003) 0.849 (41st) – high
Monarch Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan
Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Independence declared 2 December, 1971
Currency UAE dirham
Time zone UTC +4
National anthem Arabic Emirati Tahiat Alalam
Internet TLD .ae
Calling code +971

The United Arab Emirates (also called the UAE) is a Middle Eastern country situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Persian Gulf, comprising seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Ajmān, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Qaiwain. Before 1971, they were known as the Trucial States or Trucial Oman, in reference of a nineteenth-century truce between the British and some Arab Sheikhs. It borders Oman and Saudi Arabia. The country is rich in oil.

History

Main article: History of the United Arab Emirates

The seven Trucial Sheikdom States of the Persian Gulf coast granted the United Kingdom control of their defense and foreign affairs in nineteenth-century treaties. In 1971, six of these states — Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm al-Qaiwain — merged to form the United Arab Emirates. They were joined in 1972 by Ras Al Khaimah.

Politics

Main article: Politics of the United Arab Emirates

Federal institutions

The Supreme Council consists of the individual rulers of the seven emirates. The President and Vice-President are elected by the Supreme Council every five years. Although unofficial, the Presidency is de facto hereditary to the Al-Nahyan clan of Abu Dhabi and the Premiership is hereditary to the Al-Maktoom clan of Dubai. The Supreme Council also elects the Council of Ministers, while an appointed 40-member Federal National Council, drawn from all the emirates, reviews proposed laws. There is a federal court system; all emirates except Dubai and Ras al-Khaimah have joined the federal system; all emirates have secular and Islamic law for civil, criminal, and high courts.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the union's president from the nation's founding until his death on 2 November 2004. His son, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan was elected president the next day.

Human rights and labor issues

Main article: Human rights in the United Arab Emirates

The UAE as a federation of monarchies denies the right of citizens to change their government [citation needed], though limited democratization measures have been proposed. There are no political parties or unions, and nongovernmental organizations are often discouraged.

Migrants, particularly migrant workers, make up a majority (approximately 80%) of the resident population of the UAE, and account for 90% of its workforce.[1] They lack rights associated with citizenship and face a variety of restrictions on their rights as workers. Children born to migrants in the country are also denied citizenship and associated rights. There is a growing population of second and even third generation 'expatriate' children living in the country.

It is common practice for employers in the UAE to retain employees' passports for the duration of the employment contract to prevent expatriate employees from changing jobs. This is an illegal practice, but it is almost never investigated, or punished by the government. On termination of an employment contract, certain categories of expatriates are banned from obtaining a work permit in the country for six months.

The United States Department of State has cited widespread instances of blue collar labor abuse in the general context of the United Arab Emirates [2].

The government has been criticized by human rights agencies such as Human Rights Watch for its inaction in addressing the discrimination against Asian workers in the emirate. Salary structures based on nationality, sex, age, and race rather than on qualification are common [3].

According to Ansar Burney Trust (ABT), an illegal sex industry thrives in the emirates, especially in Dubai. This complements the tourism and hospitality industry, a major part of Dubai's economy [4]. A 2004 HBO documentary [5] accuses the UAE of illegally using child jockeys in camel racing, where they are subjected also to physical and sexual abuse. Antislavery.org has documented similar allegations.[6] The ABT, which was featured heavily in the HBO documentary, announced that in 2005 the government of the UAE began actively enforcing a ban on child camel jockeys, and that the issue "may finally be resolved". [7].

The UAE's human rights record, particularly in relation to migrant workers, was widely criticised during the trials of Sarah Balabagan in 1995.

A website www.mafiwasta.com is campaigning to pressure the government of the UAE into signing up to International Labour Organisation core conventions on freedom of association. Strikes and unions are currently banned in the UAE and many labourers are virtual prisoners, having paid huge agents' fees in order to obtain jobs and visas.

A small Oakland think tank (Redefining Progress) has found that the United Arab Emirates has the world's largest ecological footprint at 25 acres (.1 km²) per person.

Airlines history

The national airline of the UAE was formerly Gulf Air, operated jointly with Bahrain and Oman. On September 132005, the UAE announced that they were withdrawing from Gulf Air to concentrate on Etihad Airways, their new national carrier established in 2003.

In 1985, Dubai established a local airline called Emirates, which has become one of the most popular in the world.

Migrant workers

Migrant workers, often unskilled or semi-skilled, comprise a large portion of UAE's workforce. A 2003 Human Rights Watch report estimates up to 90 percent of the country's 1.7 million workers are migrants. These migrants, drawn to wages often ten times [citation needed] what they could make in their home countries, have helped UAE's endless construction projects proceed rapidly. Human rights groups have accused employers of exploiting these migrants. Charges include confiscating passports, withholding salaries, and sexual exploitation.

Geography

Main article: Geography of the United Arab Emirates
Map of the United Arab Emirates
Map of the United Arab Emirates

The UAE lies in Southwest Asia, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia. It is a flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert wasteland; with mountains in the east. Its strategic location along southern approaches to the Strait of Hormuz makes it a vital transit point for world crude oil. The UAE is considered to be one of the fifteen states that comprise the so-called "Cradle of Humanity".

The border demarcation treaties of 1974 and 1977 between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were never made public. Therefore the exact border of the two countries is only known to their governments.

Exclaves and enclaves

There is an Omani enclave inside UAE territory, known as Wadi Madha. It is located halfway between the Musandam peninsula and the rest of Oman, on the Dubai-Hatta road in the Emirate of Sharjah. It covers approximately 75 km² (29 mi²) and the boundary was settled in 1969. The north-east corner of Madha is closest to the Khor Fakkan-Fujairah road, barely 10 m (33 ft) away. Within the enclave is a UAE exclave called Nahwa, also belonging to the Emirate of Sharjah. It is about 8 km (5 mi) on a dirt track west of the town of New Madha. It consists of about 40 houses with its own clinic and telephone exchange [8].

Technology and telecommunications

Federal Act No. 1[9] of 1976 establishes the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation as the sole telephone and telecommunications provider in the country, however freezones and modern housing developments are exempt from this and utilise a separate telecommunications company.

File:Dubai 2 400q.jpg
Dubai Skyline

For the majority of the UAE, Etisalat has a monopoly on business and personal telecommunications services.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) requires Etisalat to actively censor Internet sites. Material deemed offensive is often blocked.

Recently, a new Telephone company and Internet Service Provider (previously called Sahamnet and now a subsidiary of Dubai Internet City) has launched to serve expatriates who have purchased freehold property within the UAE.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of the United Arab Emirates

Culture

Main article: Culture of the United Arab Emirates

Rooted in Islamic culture, the UAE has strong ties with the rest of the Arab world. The government is committed to preserving traditional forms of art and culture, primarily through the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation. Change is very apparent in social life however - attitudes toward women are shifting, and new sports are becoming popular alongside traditional camel racing, including golf, with two European Tour events in the country (the Dubai Desert Classic and the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship) and the world's richest horse race, the Dubai World Cup, held annually in March. Due to the predominant Muslim religious beliefs, pork and alcohol are not commonly served in the area. [10]

Holidays

Date English Name Arabic Transliteration
1 January New Year's Day رأس السنة الميلادية
Varies The Day of The Sacrifice Eid ul-Adha (عيد الأضحى)
Varies Islamic New Year Ra's Al Sana Al Hijria (رأس السنة الهجرية)  
6 August Accession of H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan-al Nahyan  
Varies The Night Journey Isra'a wa al-Miraj (الإسراء و المعراج)  
2 December National Day Al-Eid Al Watani (العيد الوطني)  
Varies End of Ramadan Eid ul-Fitr (عيد الفطر)

Miscellaneous topics

Government

General information

UAE communities and forums

Non-governmental organisations

  • Ansar Burney Trust - working on human rights and human trafficking issues in the Middle East; and against the use of children for slavery for camel racing in the UAE
  • MAFIWASTA - working on workers' rights issues

Media

  • Sport of Sheikhs - Emmy and duPont award winning documentary on child slavery in the UAE
  • Dubai - pearl of the middle east

Sport


Template:Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Template:Southwest Asia

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