UAE Activist Receives International Human Rights Award

On 6 October 2015, a jury of ten leading human rights NGOs awarded Emirati activist Ahmed Mansoor the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders. The jury commended Mansoor’s continued efforts to raise awareness of common human rights abuses in the UAE, such as the arbitrary detention and torture of activists. The award celebrates human[…]

Saudi Arabia on the 13th Annual World Day Against the Death Penalty

As the 13th Annual World Day Against the Death Penalty approaches, the Government of Saudi Arabia has marked its calendar for a separate occasion: the public beheading of two minors. Despite its international obligations under the Convention against Torture and the Convention on the Rights of the Child – and despite its seat on the[…]

Saudi Arabia to Inspect Own War Crimes Record in Yemen

On 30 September 2015, the Netherlands withdrew its resolution calling for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate possible abuses and conflict-related crimes in Yemen. The withdrawal comes amid significant pressure from Saudi Arabia and its coalition allies to prevent an independent inquiry into the human rights situation in Yemen. Saudi Arabia has[…]

One Month On: Where is Dr. Nasser bin Ghaith?

Today marks one month since the arrest and disappearance of prominent Emirati academic Dr. Nasser bin Ghaith. On 18 August 2015, UAE security forces detained Dr. bin Ghaith allegedly in relation to his tweets about Egypt. Nothing has been heard from him since his arrest, and his current whereabouts remain unknown. ADHRB and a number[…]

Flawed Justice: Assessing the Qatari Judiciary

In January 2014, Gabriela Knaul, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, visited Qatar upon the invitation of the government. During her visit, she met with senior officials at the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Interior, as well as the Chief Justice of the Court of Cassation, in order to[…]