FREEDOM AGENDA UPDATE FOR UAE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 001458 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/RA, NEA/PPD, DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV KMPI KPAO SCUL XF AE SUBJECT: FREEDOM AGENDA UPDATE FOR UAE Ref: A) STATE 116832, B) STATE 88465 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The United Arab Emirates is a relatively progressive yet still conservative Muslim state with a large and diverse foreign population. The expansion of Western style freedoms is incremental. Embassy Abu Dhabi and ConGen Dubai regularly meet with UAEG officials and the broader community to discuss government transparency, greater press freedoms, democracy, human rights, trafficking-in-persons issues, and other goals set out in the Forum for the Future and the Freedom Agenda. Many of Post's Public Affairs and MEPI programs are aimed at directly promoting the President's Freedom Agenda. Although Post actively pursues issues related to freedom and democracy with the UAEG, UAE authorities and society in general put an even higher priority on maintaining stability and a high economic standard of living. Domestic pressure for political change is weak; the notion of encouraging an active civil society and seeking a broader role for citizens in governance has been slow to take hold in the UAE as a result. NGO's are rare (with establishment of new NGO's regulated by the government). Currently, there is only one non-governmental human rights organization in the UAE, for example, and its activities are rather limited. On the electoral front, the first ever partial vote to the UAE Federal National Council was held in December 2006. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) The UAE does not have measurable "dissident" or "political opposition" populations pressing for reform (aside from a few random individuals with whom Post has some contact). It does have a limited number of activists seeking progress on human rights and labor issues -- with much of the effort conducted by non-Emirati individuals -- with whom Post is actively engaged. Our efforts to help the UAE overcome the plight of hundreds of young foreign boys pressed into dangerous service as camel jockeys, for example, led to extensive engagement with activists, UAEG authorities, and other Embassies, resulting in a significant (albeit by some reports partial) resolution to a serious human rights and trafficking-in-persons (TIP) matter. Post engagement on TIP issues is robust at all levels, continuing the press on camel jockeys while keeping a focus on labor and sexual exploitation as well. ¶3. (SBU) Building on the UAE Journalist Association's plans to propose a draft press law to the Ministry of Information, Post facilitated the Association's engagement with the MEPI regional office to provide the expertise of a U.S. media lawyer to assist in the drafting effort in 2006. The consultant offered detailed feedback and suggested amendments. The Association submitted the resulting draft, which would constitute a major liberalization of the UAE's press laws if passed. Post similarly facilitated coordination between MEPI and the leadership of the UAE's first human rights NGO, the UAE Human Rights Association, with whom PolOffs also maintain contact. MEPI's role has broadened the Association's regional contacts, including in fora designed to strengthen freedom of association and examine strategies for supporting democratic reform via regional civil society organizations. ¶4. (SBU) Post also keeps a close eye on the UAE's measured progress towards more transparent governance and possibly the eventual enfranchisement of the electorate. The December 2006 "election" of half of the members of the Federal National Council (chosen from and by a limited group of a few thousand citizens selected by the governments of each emirate) is a small step, but at least a step in the right direction. A promised expansion of the electorate to eventually include all citizens, and hopeful evolution of the Council itself into a more assertive legislative body, bear continued monitoring and encouragement. UAE officials feel that a measured path to democracy matches the aspirations of their people while also avoiding a difficult-to-control slide towards instability (which many feel was the result in some regional votes in which increased power fell into the hands of extremists). ¶5. (SBU) Specific programs have been developed by Public Affairs Officers in Abu Dhabi to counter the radicalization of Emirati youth and promote the Freedom Agenda, helping pave the way for responsible democracy over the long term. These efforts promise to help create a UAE public that appreciates American perspectives and culture, and that will be able to participate in efforts to build democratic institutions, in addition to joining in regional discourse about freedom and democracy. Programs include: Fulbright, Micro-Scholarships, the Virtual Club, Gulf Students in the U.S., Scholastic Book distribution, an American Corner for Children, and an ABU DHABI 00001458 002 OF 003 Undergraduate Exchange Program. These substantive programs should, if continued over time, contribute to the perception that the U.S. supports Arab aspirations, while also helping to counter the radicalization of Emirati youth and promote critical thinking and literacy skills. ¶6. (SBU) Effective U.S. programming also creates opportunities for Emirati youth to engage others on topics such as freedom and democracy, which are concepts familiar to them at a superficial level yet in need of cultivation and more critical review. Programs are also designed to provide genuine data on American culture and values. A synopsis of select PA programs follows. --The Public Affairs Section won the Department's commitment to create a Fulbright UAE Graduate Student Program. With added UAEG bi-national funding, an MOU was signed to provide four grants for UAE students to pursue graduate education in the U.S. --The recently produced "Gulf Students in the U.S.," in Arabic, features students on U.S. campuses discussing ethnic and religious tolerance and helps brief parents and prospective exchange students about the U.S. educational experience. It should also cultivate communication between local Americans and Emirati youth. --To energize our outreach to a youth audience, the American Corner at the UAE University is being transformed into the first "American Corner for Children" in the Middle East. Using USG and privately donated funds, post is purchasing a children's collection and training a director to create the first public library service in the city of Al Ain. --Through the NEA-SA Undergraduate Exchange Program, ten UAE candidates were selected to spend one or two semesters at American universities. ¶7. (SBU) Freedom Agenda goals are also actively pursued through MEPI programming small grants; the Embassy is directing concrete assistance through local partners to help cultivate a culture of democracy and put in place building blocks for future democratic reform. New MEPI small grants in 2007-2008 target women, youth, education reform, and strengthening independent reporting: --A program entitled "The 21st Century Emirati Woman: My Future as a Citizen and Leader" encourages women's participation in public life and raises awareness of the important role of all citizens. This project provides communication skills training through workshops and one-on-one sessions, culminating in a public speaking contest about the Emirati woman's role as a citizen and leader. Contest winners will receive additional leadership training and take on roles as student leaders and mentors in Zayed University's new Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Center for Leadership (the patron and namesake being the wife of UAE founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan and the respected "mother of the UAE"). --Student leaders are the focus of a program to establish and operate an elected student council at Ras Al Khaimah Men's College, offering training to current student representatives, those interested in running for office, faculty advisors, and other students to help them appreciate the role of elected councils. Participants will be taught how to form, organize, and operate a student council, and how to run an election. The teaching phase would be followed by implementation of an election. --A poll of Emirati university students from all major institutions of tertiary education in the Northern Emirates will assess the attitudes and views of Emirati students toward democracy, the future of democracy in the UAE, and the UAE's first national level elections. Thirty political science and sociology students will be involved and trained in the polling process. Poll results will be analyzed and faculty participants will lead discussion of the poll and its implications to a wider group of students. The poll results and the professors' analysis will also be disseminated to the media and posted on university websites. --In a program designated "From English Skills to Leadership Skills: Tools for Tomorrow's Leaders," UAE high school seniors who completed an English Micro-scholarship program compete in an essay contest on leadership and citizenship. Winning essays are disseminated to all Micro-scholarship students through an on-line club, and publicized widely in the media. The ten winning drafters receive additional English classes, leadership, communication, and public speaking skills training, and are invited to apply to ABU DHABI 00001458 003 OF 003 participate in the region-wide, MEPI-funded Student Leaders Program. --Deepening parental engagement in education will be pursued by setting up model parent-teacher councils in six schools, training the new participants to improve parental engagement, assisting in the development of council action plans, and facilitating the sharing of participant experiences and best practices with additional councils. --Strengthening independent journalism is the goal of a MEPI program on civic engagement through investigative reporting -- building the investigative capabilities and professionalism of UAE-based journalists to cover key political, social, and economic issues affecting their readership. In addition to equipping UAE journalists with professional skills, and seeking the publication of several in-depth investigative articles in UAE papers, the program also seeks to develop the professional ethics of participating journalists and editors. ¶8. (SBU) In addition to these locally-generated MEPI projects, the Embassy has successfully implemented the region-wide, MEPI-funded English Access Micro-scholarship Program, from which over three hundred students graduate every year. The program achieves dramatic improvement in English scores and brings students into ongoing contact with Americans. Embassy Abu Dhabi has sought to forge ties with participating students through trips to the Embassy and focus-group discussion with U.S. Foreign Service Officers. To enrich the micro-scholarship experience beyond the classroom, post created "The Virtual Club," an on-line space that keeps former students engaged with their American teachers, provides information on study in the U.S., and builds an on-line community to further improve English skills. ¶9. (SBU) Post has also made a concerted effort to distribute Scholastic books and link UAE officials to the Scholastic program to build children's critical and creative thinking skills. "My Arabic Library" (MAL) books have been distributed to American Corners (Al Ain and Fujeirah),and to local schools. We find great local interest in MAL's potential to improve Arabic literacy. This distribution is part of a larger effort to promote USG-funded Arabic translations of American children's books. Through book fairs and outreach to schools, PAS staff have placed 8,700 books into classrooms, libraries, and cultural centers. ¶10. (SBU) Looking ahead on the education reform front, post has endorsed and is ready to support efforts to launch a new MEPI civic education program later this year. Finally, in response to Mohammed Bin Rashid's announcement of a $10 billion foundation to fund programs aimed at bolstering education and employment to counter the appeal of extremism for youth around the region, post has engaged the foundation's leadership and offered to facilitate cooperation with successful organizations and programs already working in these areas. ¶11. (SBU) Comment: The UAE is not poised for an "Orange Revolution" in the near term, yet it is conscious of the inevitable march towards demands for greater public participation, enhanced government transparency, and improved education standards. Post seeks to focus programming and official engagement with UAE officials to encourage irreversible steps in the direction cited in the Freedom Agenda. End comment. QUINN