United Arab Emirates

Publisher Marketing: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven semiautonomous emirates with a resident population of approximately six million, of whom approximately 20 percent (one million) are citizens. The rulers of the seven emirates constitute the Federal Supreme Council, the country's highest legislative and executive body. The council selects a president and a vice president from its membership, and the president appoints the prime minister and cabinet. In 2004 the council selected Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, ruler of Abu Dhabi Emirate, as head of state for a five-year term. In November 2009 the council reselected Sheikh Khalifa to a second term as president. The emirates are under patriarchal rule with political allegiance defined by loyalty to tribal leaders, to leaders of the individual emirates, and to leaders of the federation. There are no democratically elected legislative institutions or political parties. There are no general elections. Citizens can express their concerns directly to their leaders through traditional, consultative mechanisms such as the open "majlis" (forum). The Federal National Council (FNC), a consultative body, consists of 40 representatives, 20 elected by an appointed electorate in 2006. Security forces reported to civilian authorities. Citizens did not have the right to change their government. There were unverified reports of torture during the year, and security forces sometimes employed flogging as judicially sanctioned punishment. Arbitrary and incommunicado detention remained a problem. The judiciary lacked independence. The government interfered with privacy and restricted civil liberties, including freedoms of speech, press (including the Internet), assembly, association, and religion. There were limited reports of corruption, and the government lacked transparency. Domestic abuse of women remained a problem, and there were allegations that police sometimes enabled domestic abuse. Legal and societal discrimination against women and noncitizens was pervasive. Trafficking in persons continued, the government severely restricted the rights of foreign workers, and abuse of foreign domestic servants remained problematic.