United Arab Emirates (UAE): Address concerns of the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers

Amnesty International’s written statement to the 29th session of the UN Human Rights Council (15 June – 3 July 2015). In November 2012, the UAE was elected to serve as a member of the Human Rights Council after the government pledged to introduce reforms to promote and protect human rights in accordance with international standards. Far from living up to these pledges, the UAE authorities embarked on a ruthless crackdown on freedom of expression and association, which has seen a scale of human rights violations not previously witnessed by Amnesty International in the country.