COP28 – FairSquare

UAE: Laying of mass charges against political prisoners during COP28 “beggars belief”

News that during its hosting of the COP28 climate talks, the UAE laid new terrorism charges against 87 people, including the country’s most high-profile political prisoners, has been greeted with shock.

New report on COP28’s food and agriculture image and UAE’s migrant workers

The image of climate-friendly menus being pushed at this year’s global climate conference, COP28 in Dubai, UAE, clashes with the stark reality faced by vulnerable communities in the host country, and its impact on the environment, a new report released today unveils.

Manchester’s political leaders should use influence to call for release of detained UAE activists

A coalition of five human rights NGOs has urged Manchester City Council to make a public call on the government of the United Arab Emirates to release Ahmed Mansoor and others in the UAE who have been unfairly imprisoned for expressing criticism of its government.

New briefing: COP28 site workers at critical risk of serious heat injury

A new FairSquare investigation, This Weather isn’t for Humans has found that in September 2023, migrant construction workers on Dubai’s COP28 site were put to work outdoors in extreme heat that posed very serious threats to their health and could be fatal, and in clear violation of the United Arab Emirates’ laws designed to protect outdoor workers from its harsh climate.

Exporting Authoritarianism: new UAE briefing

FairSquare today released a briefing paper examining how the UAE has used its oil and gas revenues to finance an interventionist and ruinous foreign policy, most notably in the Middle East and North Africa.

Climate movement must be aware of the threats the UAE poses ahead of COP28

A trio of human rights organisations today released a new briefing that looks to highlight the threats that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) poses to the aims of the climate justice movement in advance of the country’s hosting of COP28.

UAE, other Gulf states exposing migrant workers to potentially fatal temperatures

COP28 hosts should lead the way to protect workers’ health and lives in the face of alarming projections

Extreme and rising temperatures in the Gulf states are placing migrant workers across the region at acute risk of potentially fatal heat-related illnesses and injuries, a new report from the Vital Signs Partnership has found.

Climate movement must switch on to UAE threat

In this article for Climate Home News, FairSquare director James Lynch explores the relationship between fossil fuel extraction and authoritarianism in the UAE, and the threat this poses to the planet.

Joint statement ahead of COP28 in the UAE

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continue their sustained assault on human rights and freedoms, including targeting human rights activists, enacting repressive laws, and using the criminal justice system as a tool to eliminate the human rights movement. These policies have led to the closure of civic space, severe restrictions on freedom of expression, both online and offline, and the criminalisation of peaceful dissent.