United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (also the UAE or the Emirates) is a Middle Eastern country situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Persian Gulf, comprising seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Ajmān, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. Before 1971, they were known as the Trucial States or Trucial Oman, in reference of a nineteenth-century truce between the British and some Arab Sheikhs. It borders Oman and Saudi Arabia. The country is rich in oil.

History

The seven Trucial Sheikdom States of the Persian Gulf coast granted the United Kingdom control of their defense and foreign affairs in nineteenth-century treaties. In 1971, six of these states — Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm al-Qaiwain — merged to form the United Arab Emirates. They were joined in 1972 by Ras Al Khaimah.

Politics

The Supreme Council consists of the individual rulers of the seven emirates. The President and Vice-President are elected by the Supreme Council every five years. Although unofficial, the Presidency is de facto hereditary to the Al-Nahyan clan of Abu Dhabi and the Premiership is hereditary to the Al-Maktoom clan of Dubai. The Supreme Council also elects the Council of Ministers, while an appointed 40-member Federal National Council, drawn from all the emirates, reviews proposed laws. There is a federal court system; all emirates except Dubai and Ras al-Khaimah have joined the federal system; all emirates have both secular and Islamic law for civil, criminal, and high courts.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the union's president from the nation's founding until his death on 2 November 2004. His son, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan was elected president the next day.

Economic trend

United Arab Emirates is now the richest country in the Muslim world Though [http://earthtrends.wri.org/text/economics-business/variable-638.html Current GDP per capita contracted by 42% in the Eighties, successful diversification helped register positive growth of 48% in the Nineties.

Airlines history

The national airline of the UAE was formerly Gulf Air, operated jointly with Bahrain and Oman. On September 13 2005, the UAE announced that they were withdrawing from Gulf Air to concentrate on Etihad Airways, their new national carrier established in 2003.

In 1985, Dubai established a local airline called Emirates, which is now one of the most popular in the world.

Human rights

It is a common practice for employers in the UAE to retain employees' passports for the duration of the employment contract to prevent expatriate employees from changing jobs. This is an illegal practice, but it is almost never investigated, let alone punished by the government. On termination of an employment contract, certain categories of expatriates are banned from obtaining a work permit in the country for six months.

The United States Department of State has cited widespread instances of blue collar labor abuse in the general context of the United Arab Emirates ^*.

The government has been criticized by human rights agencies such as Human Rights Watch for its inaction in addressing the discrimination against Asian workers in the emirates. Salary structures and treatment based on nationality, sex, age, and race rather than on qualification are common ^*.

According to Ansar Burney Trust (ABT), an illegal sex industry thrives in the emirates, especially in Dubai. This complements the tourism and hospitality industry, a major part of Dubai's economy A 2004 HBO documentary ^*" target="_blank" >The ABT, which was featured heavily in the HBO documentary, announced that in 2005 the government of the UAE began actively enforcing a ban on child camel jockeys, and that the issue "may finally be resolved". [6.

The UAE's human rights record, particularly in relation to migrant workers, was widely criticised during the trials of Sarah Balabagan in 1995.

A website is campaigning to pressure the government of the UAE into signing up to International Labour Organisation core conventions on freedom of association (see ^*). Strikes and unions are currently banned in the UAE and many labourers are virtual prisoners, having paid huge agents' fees in order to obtain jobs and visas.

Migrant workers

Migrant workers, sometimes unskilled or skilled, comprise a large portion of UAE's workforce. A 2003 Human Rights Watch report estimates up to 90 percent of the country's 1.7 million workers are migrants. These migrants, drawn to wages often more than they could make in their home countries, have helped UAE's endless construction projects proceed rapidly. However, unlike many other countries, these foreign workers (also known as expatriates) do not have a claim to UAE citizenship and thus cannot be naturalized. This is generally only possible through marriage to a UAE or GCC citizen. People from neighbouring Arab countries or Iran who entered the country illegally during the 1950's and 60's, however, are full UAE citizens, due to the fact that poor border controls existed at that time.

Migrant workers in UAE face many challenges. As mentioned above, disparities in salaries and treatment occur for different races, with Arabs and Westerners getting better pay than their Asian or non-Arab counterparts. Even among Asians there are disparities. For example, a worker from Southasia, China or Phillipines may receive lower pay and bad treatment than one from Japan or Singapore.

Geography

The UAE lies in Southwest Asia, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia. It is a flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert wasteland; with mountains in the east. Desert land covers over 90% of the country ^*. Its strategic location along southern approaches to the Strait of Hormuz makes it a vital transit point for world crude oil. The UAE is considered to be one of the fifteen states that comprise the so-called "Cradle of Humanity".

The border demarcation treaties of 1974 and 1977 between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were never made public. Therefore the exact border of the two countries is only known to their governments.

Exclaves and enclaves

There is an Omani enclave inside UAE territory, known as Wadi Madha. It is located halfway between the Musandam peninsula and the rest of Oman, on the Dubai-Hatta road in the Emirate of Sharjah. It covers approximately 75 km² (29 mi²) and the boundary was settled in 1969. The north-east corner of Madha is closest to the Khor Fakkan-Fujairah road, barely 10 m (33 ft) away. Within the enclave is a UAE exclave called Nahwa, also belonging to the Emirate of Sharjah. It is about 8 km (5 mi) on a dirt track west of the town of New Madha. It consists of about 40 houses with its own clinic and telephone exchange ^*.

Technology and telecommunications

Federal Act No. 1^* of 1976 establishes the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation as the sole telephone and telecommunications provider in the country, however freezones and modern housing developments are exempt from this and utilise a separate telecommunications company. For the majority of the UAE, Etisalat has a monopoly on business and personal telecommunications services.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) requires Etisalat to actively censor Internet sites. Material deemed offensive is often blocked.

Recently, a new Telephone company and Internet Service Provider (previously called Sahamnet and now a subsidiary of Dubai Internet City) has launched to serve expatriates who have purchased freehold property within the UAE.

Demographics

**Distribution of Nationalities**
Origin
Emaratis (local Arabs)		19%
Other Arabs		23%
South Asians		45%
Western & east Asian		13%

About 88% of the population of the United Arab Emirates is urban. The remaining live in tiny towns scattered throughout the country or many of the desert oilfield camps. ^*.

Culture

Rooted in Islamic culture, the UAE has strong ties with the rest of the Arab world. The government is committed to preserving traditional forms of art and culture, primarily through the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation. Change is very apparent in social life however - attitudes toward women are shifting, and new sports are becoming popular alongside traditional camel racing, including golf, with two European Tour events in the country (the Dubai Desert Classic and the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship) and the world's richest horse race, the Dubai World Cup, held annually in March. Due to the predominant Muslim religious beliefs, pork and alcohol are not commonly served in the area. ^*

Media

While media is one of the first industries that the emirate of Dubai has sought to develop through a number of micro-cities, there remain major issues concerning freedom of speech throughout the UAE. Dubai Media City has helped to make Dubai the media hub for the region, encompassing both the creation of media, from print through television and new media, and the advertising and marketing industry.

A number of international news organisations, including Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France Press, Bloomberg, Dow Jones Newswires, CNN and the BBC, all have a presence in Dubai Media City, and enjoy complete freedom to report on local and regional events. However, local media operate under a number of restrictions, and are strictly forbidden from criticising the royal family.

The leading English-language newspapers in the UAE are:

Holidays

Date	English Name	Arabic Transliteration
1 January	New Year's Day	رأس السنة الميلادية
Varies	The Day of The Sacrifice	Eid ul-Adha (عيد الأضحى)
Varies	Islamic New Year	Ra's Al Sana Al Hijria (رأس السنة الهجرية)
6 August	Accession of H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan-al Nahyan	Eid julous Al-Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan (عيد جلوس الشيخ زايد بن سلطان آل نهيان)
Varies	The Night Journey	Isra'a wa al-Miraj (الإسراء و المعراج)
2 December	National Day	Al-Eid Al Watani (العيد الوطني)
Varies	End of Ramadan	Eid ul-Fitr (عيد الفطر)

Miscellaneous topics

External links

Government

Government of United Arab Emirates official site
UAE Ministry Of Information

General information

Ras Al Khaimahs Unique Website with Business Clubs in RAK & Dubai
Dubai Business Network largest business forum in the UAE
CIA World Factbook - United Arab Emirates directory category
Arab Links - United Arab Emirates directory category in Arabic
Open Directory Project - United Arab Emirates directory category
US State Department - United Arab Emirates includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports
Dubai City Guide
The United Arab Emirates Information Guide - The Emirates Network
Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA)

UAE communities and forums

Non-governmental organisations

Ansar Burney Trust - working on human rights and human trafficking issues in the Middle East; and against the use of children for slavery for camel racing in the UAE
MAFIWASTA - working on workers' rights issues

Media

Sport of Sheikhs - Emmy and duPont award winning documentary on child slavery in the UAE
Dubai - pearl of the middle east
Panoramic views of UAE

Sport

UAE Footbal Association - The official webiste of the association

Shopping

UAE Free Community Classifieds - UAE Free Community Classifieds

U.A.E. based News Papers

Gourt Home::Gourt :: United Arab Emirates