UAE’s New Ministry of Happiness: A Distraction from Repression?

On 8 February 2016, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that it would be forming new ministries of “happiness” and “tolerance.” While the UAE is not the first country to establish such positions—commentators note that the move is reminiscent of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index, installed in 1972, as well as other more recent trends—it remains[…]

In Written Statement to UN, ADHRB Raises Torture, Killings in GCC

At the 30th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain submitted a written statement on the subject of human rights abuses in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The statement specifically discussed the ongoing systematic abuses within the judicial systems and highlighted violations[…]

No Country for Outsiders: Qatar Detains Human Rights Defenders

On 31 August 2014, Krishna Upadhyaya and Ghimire Gundev disappeared from Doha, Qatar, just before they were supposed to board their plane to leave the country. The pair of human rights defenders were in the country researching the plight of migrant workers in the Gulf emirate. Shortly before their disappearance, the researchers communicated to their[…]