UAE REFORM STRATEGY: QUARTERLY PROGRESS UPDATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ABU DHABI 001327

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ARP, AND NEA/PI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2011
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPAO KDEM KMPI AE
SUBJECT: UAE REFORM STRATEGY: QUARTERLY PROGRESS UPDATE

REF: A. ABU DHABI 16


B. 05 ABU DHABI 2173

C. DUBAI 1074

D. ABU DHABI 953

E. ABU DHABI 1223

ABU DHABI 00001327 001.2 OF 004


Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Since the January 2 submission of the
quarterly UAE Democratic Reform Strategy update (ref A),
there have been additional developments. During the period
January 1-March 31, the UAEG created a Cabinet-level Ministry
of State for Federal National Council Affairs that its new
minister says will prepare the country for "stage one" of its
plan to move toward a directly elected parliament. (Stage
one is the previously announced limited elections that would
be held for half of the existing 40-member Federal National
Council -- FNC. In subsequent stages in an unspecified
timeframe, the FNC membership would be enlarged to 60 or 80
members, the FNC's powers would be expanded, and half the
members would be elected in a vote open to all Emirati
citizens.) The Emiratis are proceeding at a slow pace and
lag behind other countries in the region in introducing
representative government. The February 2006 Cabinet
reshuffle also saw the appointment of a second woman
minister. On the civil society front, the UAEG approved the
country,s first human rights NGO, which announced that it
would monitor human rights violations and human trafficking,
publish a report on the human rights situation in the UAE,
and staff a hotline for reports of abuse. New NGO and labor
laws are still pending, although the Minister of Labor
publicly announced late March that the government would allow
the formation of labor unions by the end of the year.


2. (C) Summary continued: In the area of media reform, the
Journalists Association has submitted draft freedom of the
press legislation to the UAEG for its consideration. The
Ministry of Information was abolished in the Cabinet
reshuffle. The government news agency and both the local
English and Arabic press showed a new willingness to cover
sensitive domestic human rights topics during the visit of
DRL DAS Erica Barks-Ruggles. The UAEG announced initiatives
to increase transparency, although there are still no
mechanisms for the public to comment on draft federal
legislation or proposed regulations. In the judicial reform
arena, the UAEG took a decision to allow UAE women with
Shari'a law training to serve in the judicial sector. The
government also reorganized the Justice Ministry so as to
devote more resources to ensuring that moderate Islam is
preached and taught in mosques and schools. End Summary.

Federal National Council
--------------


3. (C) There has been some -- albeit slow -- movement on the
plans for limited elections for the FNC announced by
President Khalifa on December 1, 2005. On February 9, newly
appointed Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
al-Maktoum (MbR) named Anwar Gargash to the new portfolio of
Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs.
Gargash's role will be to ensure that President Khalifa,s
announcement of limited elections for half the FNC
consultative body is implemented, he has told us. Gargash
told Ambassador and Consul General on February 25 that the
FNC needed to become a body that was both "representative and
empowered" (ref C).


4. (C) According to Gargash, the UAEG is embarking on a
multi-stage process, commencing with the election of half the
existing 40-member FNC by some 4,000 electors appointed by
the various rulers of the seven emirates. Gargash indicated
the first phase -- limited elections for half the members --
could take place in the fall. The second stage would involve
first expanding the FNC,s membership, to perhaps 60 or 80
members, and then broadening its powers. Stage three would
allow all Emirati citizens to vote (vice 4000 appointed
electors) in the election of half the members of the newly
enlarged and empowered FNC. Gargash said the move to a
fourth stage (presumably open election of all FNC members)
would have to be carefully considered in view of political
trends elsewhere in the region.


5. (C) At the new federal Cabinet of Ministers' swearing-in
ceremony February 11, MbR admonished the ministers to keep
abreast of the times. He also made the following Cabinet
changes that should help advance the reform agenda:

-- The Ministry of Information, a vestige of a time when many
governments sought to censor the press and centralize public
relations, was abolished.

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-- The separation of the Ministry of Education into two
ministries, one for lower education and one for higher
education, and the appointment of Dr. Hanif Hassan as
Minister of Education. Formerly Vice Chancellor of Zayed
University, an all-women's college, he has been one of this
Embassy's interlocutors and is committed to an education
reform agenda.

-- The appointment of Mariam al-Roumi as Minister of Social
Affairs. An Under Secretary in the former Ministry of Labor
and Social Affairs, she was an Embassy interlocutor on
charities regulation and NGO reform. She became the second
woman to serve in the Cabinet, Economy Minister Sheikha Lubna
al-Qasimi being the other.


6. (U) As part of the UAE's gradual move toward more
representative government, Abu Dhabi emirate has accepted an
invitation from the Washington-based National Council of
State Legislatures (NCSL) to send a member and four staff of
the Abu Dhabi National Consultative Council (NCC),which
advises Abu Dhabi,s Ruler, to attend the Spring Forum of
NCSL's Standing Committees April 6-8 in Washington. Emirati
participants will get an opportunity to meet and network with
American state legislators and staff from across the U.S.,
and learn about public policy innovations in state
legislatures. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin
Zayed requested the NCC's participation in the forum. NCC
member Ghaith al-Ghaith al-Kubaisi told Emboffs that Sheikh
Mohammed bin Zayed wants the NCC to hold elections for half
its membership, following the model of the FNC.

Civil Society Development
--------------


7. (SBU) On February 18, the Ministry of Social Affairs
formally licensed the first human rights NGO in the UAE,
ending months of speculation about whether the government
would permit a home-grown rights monitoring group to operate.
The new Emirates Human Rights Association (EHRA),based in
Abu Dhabi, may have a future branch office in Dubai. No
action has yet been taken regarding the applications of two
other human rights organizations, which have been pending for
more than 18 months. One of those organizations includes
moderate Islamist activists whose activities and publications
are not likely to be tolerated by the government. EHRA will
publish an annual report on the UAE human rights situation,
staff a hotline to report abuses, and concern itself with
human trafficking.


8. (C) Some human rights activists in the country doubt the
independence of the EHRA, and question its legitimacy as an
independent NGO. EHRA member and academic Ebtisam Al-Kitbi
tld us that her group received "directions from higer
authorities" that if a third group was formedby joining
"certain" members from the first and econd groups, and
eliminating "unwanted" names labeled as Islamist ideologues,
then the third grou would get approval to operate. EHRA
members tod us they will not accept funds from the
governmnt or foreign embassies to preserve their
indepedence (ref D).


9. (C) DRL DAS Erica Barks-Ruggles met with EHRA members
March 16 during her visitto the UAE. They told her that the
government, rimarily through the security services,
attempte to gain influence of the board of directors and te
membership. They indicated that the organization would
benefit if the USG were to confer "its blessing" by publicly
acknowledging and supporting their goals, in order to deter
the UAEG from hindering the group,s activities. EHRA
members told Barks-Ruggles that the organization will focus
its efforts on reform of the courts and the police, as well
as improving the rights of laborers. For instance, they
would work to end the practice of flogging as a sentence,
though they noted that Shari'a courts in neighboring
countries imposed far more severe penalties. During a
meeting with Minister of Social Affairs Mariam al-Roumi on
March 26, Ambassador noted that the formation of EHRA was a
very positive development. Ambassador also stressed that it
is important for NGOs to be independent from government
interference, as such independence will give them greater
legitimacy.


10. (C) In the labor arena, the Cabinet's legislative
committee approved an amendment to the UAE labor law,
empowering the Minister of Labor to issue a ministerial
decree authorizing labor unions. The amendment is now
pending before the Cabinet. However, Economy Minister
Sheikha Lubna al-Qasimi, visiting Washington in mid-March,
told EB A/S Wayne that the UAE is not prepared to accept

ABU DHABI 00001327 003.2 OF 004


collective bargaining or the right to form unions as a matter
of national security. The UAE plans to allow the formation
of labor unions in which Emirati citizens would enjoy full
membership; expatriate workers would be allowed to
participate, but at least for the time being, would not have
full voting rights.

Media Reform
--------------


11. (SBU) A MEPI project has resulted in the UAE Journalists
Association submitting draft freedom of the press legislation
to Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan for
the government's consideration. If adopted as drafted, the
proposed legislation would be the Gulf region,s most
progressive. The draft includes language on defamation,
personal insults, and slanders, as well as new codes and
ethics. Journalists could only be criminally charged for
insulting the UAE president or a ruler of one of the
emirates, or for attacking Islam or other religions. No
other offenses could result in imprisonment. This
MEPI-funded project brought a U.S. media law expert to Abu
Dhabi in November 2005 to meet with the Journalists
Association. The bulk of draft legislation submitted to the
UAEG directly reflects the lawyer's subsequent input to the
Journalists Association. The association has suggested
additional U.S. assistance (possibly through MEPI) in
"training the trainers" so that prominent local journalists
can train other journalists in the UAE and in the region.
The association is also interested in a writing workshop for
UAE business reporters who cover the financial markets in Abu
Dhabi and Dubai.


12. (U) Media coverage of DRL DAS Barks-Ruggles's visit
suggested a new willingness to discuss human rights, a
sensitive topic in the UAE. The UAEG news agency and both
the Arabic and English dailies published her remarks on
political reform and human rights (ref. E).

Transparency
--------------


13. (U) In the federal Cabinet reshuffle, the government also
created a new Ministry of Government Sector Development. Its
mandate is to organize the newly created ministries and
restructure other ministries to achieve good governance. It
will launch e-government initiatives to facilitate the
relationship between UAE nationals and the government, and
between the local and federal government. On February 20,
MbR announced that ministries would be given "full
administrative and financial independence" to improve their
services and performances. He also ordered the establishment
of an administrative unit that will report directly to him
and will be responsible for setting timeframes and action
programs on performance assessment. He ordered that all
ministerial committees be scrapped, except the Committee of
Financial Affairs and the Ministerial Legislation Committee,
in order to speed up the decision-making process. New
committees could be set up if necessary. On March 6, the
Cabinet decided to allow the Ministry of Finance and Industry
to take a five percent stake in public shareholding
companies, a move that would help boost corporate governance
and transparency, according to analysts. Under the
arrangement, the UAEG will have access to all company
information.

Justice Reform
--------------


14. (U) There were two developments in the area of justice
reform. One was a reorganization of the Ministry of Justice
resulting in the creation of a Department of Islamic Affairs
and Endowments. We attribute the change to the UAE
leadership's decision to devote more resources to ensure that
moderate Islam is preached and taught in mosques and schools.
The other development was the decision by the federal
Cabinet's committee for legislation to amend the Judicial
Authority Law to allow UAE women who hold a bachelor's degree
in Shari'a law to serve as judges and prosecutors. Four
women are currently in training at the judicial training
institute in Abu Dhabi.

Other Reform Developments
--------------


15. (U) Some of the other reform-related developments were:

-- Education: The Ministry of Education's curriculum director
told MEPI RO Director that the Ministry wants to move forward
with a CCE/Arab Civitas "Project Citizen" pilot program as

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soon as possible. A meeting to discuss next steps with CCE
and Arab Civitas was requested (and is expected to take place
in April or May).

-- Education: A MEPI small grant-funded training of trainers
project began under the iEARN program in the UAE, February
25-March 1. The program enables teachers at public schools
to involve their classes in active learning collaborative
projects through the use of the Internet with schools in the
U.S. and other countries.

-- Decentralization/Reorganization: On March 13, the UAE
Ministry of Finance and Industry announced plans to
decentralize government ministries to give them more
financial and managerial independence. Separately, President
Khalifa issued five decrees and four laws regarding the
development and restructuring of the Abu Dhabi government
with the goal of making it more efficient.
SISON