National Security in the Middle East conference held in Abu Dhabi on the 29th and 30th of August

The National Security in the Middle East conference was held in Abu Dhabi on the 29th and the 30th of August with the participation of state officials and experts. 

The conference discussed the importance of the role of security control in the integrated systems to reduce infiltration and smuggling operations, with a review on UAE's experience  in the fight against organised crime.

The panel discussion sessions had the participation of Qatar seaport director, the Regional Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for the GCC countries, and several specialists in the areas of national security.

Hamid Al-Mayahi,deputy director of electronic audit management and information security in the UAE Ministry of Interior, pointed out that the UAE is one of the first countries that took the initiative for such a project. 

Abu Dhabi has recently announced several projects revolving around security surveillance, especially the "Eagle Eye " project  which uses huge number of surveillance cameras in various regions of the country. This same project has raised several concerns about using this system to spy on citizens. Press reports have also confirmed that Abu Dhabi  hired Israeli security firms to implement the Eagle Eye project on top of other electronic control projects.

It is important to note that security matters are very critical in the UAE as the security forces often use the pretext of cybercrime laws or the laws to fight organised crime to detain dissenting Emirati citizens for several months before finally presenting them to a court on charges of “insulting the state” or “spreading false news.