UAE’s forms NHRI’s first board of trustees

The president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, appointed the first board of trustees to the UAE’s National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), which was established in August this year.

The board is to be led by Maqsoud Kruse, a former army officer, and 11 other members, most of whom are former police officers and graduates of the Dubai Police Academy (DPA). Over half of the trustees are linked to the Emirati State Security Apparatus, responsible for its flagrant breaches of human rights, including torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance.

Upon review, the board does not contain any human rights activists, members of non-governmental organisations, representatives of religious and ideological parties, nor any qualified human rights experts.

The announcement came as more than 200 political prisoners continue to be held in Emirati prisons for their peaceful and legitimate human rights advocacy. In countless instances, the UAE government has overseen the torture of human rights defenders and activists in custody and has denied them the right to a fair trial and access to counsel during official investigations.

Find out more here.