The UAE’s new citizenship laws draw attention to its poor human rights record regarding women's rights and its large stateless population.

Press Releases 10 Feb 2021 1118views

The UAE government announced that they have adopted ‘law amendments’ to citizenship rights. The updated amendments are thought to entice investors, elites, and academics to enhance the country's ‘development’ plans. However, the amendments show no refinements to the situation regarding women's rights nor is it an improvement upon citizenship rights for ‘stateless’ people.

Considering that 90% of the UAE’s population is weighted towards foreign nationals, and a large proportion of this number is made up of low paid workers, the updated laws are thought to filter the entrance of elitist individuals who hold economic and entrepreneurial potential for the country.

Meanwhile, the situation regarding discrimination against women and Bidun (stateless) individuals remains a huge burden on the UAE’s human rights record.

Discrimination against women is evidenced in the fact that Emirati mothers are not able to pass their official citizenship to their children, whilst children with Emirati fathers and foreign nationals are granted immediate citizenship.

The process of applying for a child's citizenship is long-winded and many mothers may endure long waiting periods before government officials even respond. The whole process can amount to a total of 6 years.

With many taking to social media to criticise the hypocrisy of the ‘updates’ to citizenship laws, attention has also been drawn to the large Bidun (stateless) population. A large number of individuals from the Bidun population can be traced back to nomadic communities who lived on land that is now the UAE, long before the country’s existence. Yet, they are denied Emirati citizenship.

This denial of citizenship places strain on the Bidun's abilities to access basic public goods such as healthcare and education. It also denies all children of stateless people any means of acquiring rights to citizenship, even if they are born in the country.

The right to nationality is a fundamental human right, one of paramount importance in establishing a link between the state and its citizens.

ICFUAE statement:

Whilst the UAE’s update to its citizenship law is not an unjust act in its own right, it highlights the government's misaligned focus, which should be directed towards amending the state of their human rights record. The UAE must seek to end all discriminatory acts against women, and to grant citizenship to their children and stateless people.

ENDS