October 2, 2023 (Washington, DC) – Members of Congress should pass two significant pieces of legislation introduced today, the Khashoggi Act and Khashoggi Resolution, on the fifth anniversary of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, said Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), the organization founded by the late Khashoggi.

The Khashoggi Act aims to protect activists and journalists by codifying the Khashoggi Ban and allow lawsuits in the United States against governments implicated in extraterritorial repression. The Khashoggi Resolution aims to honor Khashoggi’s legacy by pledging continued action to hold the Saudi government accountable for human rights abuses.

“The Khashoggi Act and Khashoggi Resolution are not just pieces of legislation; they are a testament to unwavering congressional commitment to uphold the principles of human rights and freedom of the press,” said Raed Jarrar, Advocacy Director for DAWN. “Five years ago, our founder Jamal Khashoggi paid the ultimate price for standing up to autocratic forces, and his legacy continues to guide our resolve.”

Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), and Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN) introduced the Jamal Khashoggi Act of 2023, first introduced in 2022. This Act provides a comprehensive legal framework to hold accountable those who target journalists and dissidents, making it a pivotal moment in the fight for human rights and press freedom.  It codifies the Khashoggi Ban, a visa restriction policy issued by Secretary Blinken in 2020, which bans from travel to the United States individuals acting for a foreign government who are found to have engaged in serious, extraterritorial, counter-dissident activities. The Act also introduces the Khashoggi Amendment, which adds a new exception to sovereign immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act for lawsuits seeking damages against a foreign state for the personal injury or death of a U.S. person that is the result of an act of transnational repression. 

“We should be able to sue and hold accountable foreign governments who murder and injure U.S. residents because of their political beliefs,” said Jarrar. 

In addition, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), both representing the district where Khashoggi resided, led 47 of their colleagues in introducing the Khashoggi Resolution. This resolution acknowledges the U.S. Government’s sanctions on 17 Saudi individuals under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act for their roles in Khashoggi’s murder. It also calls on Saudi Arabia to ensure accountability for those responsible for the murder, release wrongfully detained individuals, lift travel bans on dissidents and former political prisoners, and ensure protection of freedoms like assembly, association, and the press.

“The United States has a moral imperative to hold perpetrators accountable and protect journalists and dissidents around the globe from similar acts of transnational aggression, said Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director for DAWN. “The recent report about the Indian government’s murder of a Canadian citizen perceived to be a political opponent should make clear that without serious accountability, these crimes will mushroom.”

September 29, 2023 (Washington D.C.): On the fifth anniversary of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, civil society and governments around the world should recommit to seeking accountability for the killing and securing an end to persistent extraterritorial repression, said Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), the policy group founded by Khashoggi.

Failure to hold Mohamed bin Salman (MBS) and other Saudi agents involved in the murder will fuel impunity and copycat attacks to the detriment of people worldwide.

“Five years after this heinous crime, we persist in demanding justice and accountability from the Saudi government and are moved by the global efforts to commemorate Khashoggi’s life and legacy,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN’s Executive Director. “If the Saudi government spent a fraction of the billions it is spending to sanitize its disastrous human rights record on real reforms and accountability, everyone – from Saudi citizens to people around the world – would be better off.”

While governments around the world initially responded to Khashoggi’s murder with sanctions against the Saudi government and many of the individual culprits involved in the murder, they have largely returned to business as usual. The Biden administration has expanded arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest purchaser of U.S. weapons, and is now offering the regime an unprecedented security guarantee in return for normalization with Israel. France’s President Macron has hosted MBS with two state visits, and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has invited MBS to London. However, some in the U.S. government have maintained their commitment to accountability. Importantly, Reps Schiff, Connolly, and McCollum will reintroduce the Khashoggi Act, which would codify the Khashoggi Ban and amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to allow for civil suits against foreign governments involved in acts of transnational repression, such as the murder of Khashoggi.  

The Saudi government claims that it has prosecuted low-level individuals implicated in Khashoggi’s murder and made unspecified “reforms”, but has never sought accountability against MBS, whom US intelligence officials concluded ordered the murder, or his two top henchmen, Saud Al-Qahtani and General Ahmed al-Asiri. The Saudi government has also refused to disclose where they have hidden Khashoggi’s remains, with a high-level Saudi official recently claiming that he “didn’t know” what the murderers did with Khashoggi’s body.

“It is shameful, but also painful, that the Saudi government hasn’t had the dignity to collect Khashoggi’s remains and allow his friends and family to give him a proper burial,” said Raed Jarrar, DAWN’s Advocacy Director. “Whatever political gains MBS and the Saudi regime think killing Khashoggi was worth, they should at least have a shred of ethics to allow him a real funeral.”

Civil society and local governments, however, have continued in their efforts to commemorate Khashoggi’s legacy. On October 2, 2023, following a campaign by DAWN, Los Angeles will rename the street in front of the Saudi Consulate “Jamal Khashoggi Square” in a public ceremony to be attended by LA City officials, Congressman Brad Sherman, and civil society organization representatives. 

On October 4, 2023, DAWN will host a commemoration dinner for Khashoggi at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., with support from media and civil society sponsors, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Tawakkol Karman Foundation, the Arab Center Washington, the National Interest Foundation, the law firm of Grossman Young & Hammond, LLC, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Emgage Action, the Center for Egyptian-American Dialogue, and the law firm of Sethi-Mazaheri LLC.. In attendance will be over 150 leading journalists, writers, and activists, including special honorees  Ayman Mohyeldin of MSNBC and Egyptian journalist Solafa Magdy, who will receive DAWN’s inaugural Integrity Award.

Additional commemoration events are referenced below.

In the absence of serious international action to punish Saudi Arabia for its attack on a U.S. resident journalist, extraterritorial attacks by Saudi Arabia and other governments around the world have proliferated. DAWN has documented numerous, ongoing attacks against U.S. citizens by the Saudi government, as well as attacks against activists and perceived political opponents in the U.K., Norway, Canada, France, and other countries. Most recently, the Canadian government announced that the Indian government had orchestrated the murder of one of its citizens, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh activist. 

“We need to connect the dots and understand that failing to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for the extraterritorial murder of Khashoggi encourages other governments to believe that they too can get away with it, which is exactly what India’s reported murder of a Canadian citizen this year demonstrates,” said Whitson. “If democratic governments fail to protect journalists and activists living in their own countries from foreign attacks, our own press and societies will be the victims, and our own democracies will lose.”

DAWN urges the Biden administration to end its policy of capitulation and concession to the Saudi Arabian government, including continued arms sales, assistance with uranium enrichment, and a security guarantee that will threaten the lives of American soldiers.

Commemoration Events on the Fifth Anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi’s Murder

1. Unveiling of Jamal Khashoggi Square in Los Angeles: DAWN and the Los Angeles City Council will unveil “Jamal Khashoggi Square” in Los Angeles on October 2, at 3:00 PM PST at the square across from the Saudi Consulate. Among those delivering remarks at the ceremony will be Congressman Sherman, Councilwoman Park, Human Rights Watch, UCLA Law Promise Institute for Human Rights, Sarah Leah Whitson, and Raed Jarrar of DAWN.

2. Virtual Discussion: Together with the Freedom Initiative, the Project on Middle East and Democracy, Human Rights Watch, and others, DAWN is co-sponsoring a virtual discussion on October 2 from 1:00-2:00 PM ET to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the murder. 

3. DAWN Commemoration Dinner: On October 4 at 6:00 pm, DAWN is organizing a dinner at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, to commemorate Khashoggi’s legacy, featuring keynote speeches by Nobel Prize Laureate and DAWN Board Member Tawakkol Karman, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Writer Lawrence Wright, and Pulitzer Prize Winning Writer Kai Bird. The event will also include the presentation of the inaugural DAWN Integrity Award to Ayman Mohyeldin of MSNBC and journalist Solafa Magdy,.

4. Georgetown conference: “Critical Perspectives on U.S. Concessions for the Abraham Accords: Saudi Arabia-Israel-United States”: On October 5, from noon to 1:30 PM EDT, Georgetown University will host an in-person live-stream conference, co-organized by the Center for International Policy, DAWN, and the Forum on the Arms Trade, The event will scrutinize the Biden administration’s efforts to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which could include significant U.S. concessions such as arms transfers and defense commitments. 

Morocco has a rich history of innovation in electronic music—an industry that, in recent years, has gained international recognition through destination festivals popular with music lovers across the world. Yet the electronic music scene is plagued by a recognizable problem: It is almost entirely dominated by men.

To confront that reality and change the face of Morocco’s music industry, Moroccan women are forming a movement—launching grassroots initiatives to train aspiring DJs and support them to book their first gigs and produce music. DJs are increasingly outspoken about demanding more opportunities for women and creating safer conditions for women to party.

This reporting was supported by NYU GlobalBeat, the international in-field reporting program at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. Additional story development was provided by Mahacine Mokdad.

(Washington, D.C., September 23, 2023): The U.S. government immediately should suspend all military aid to Egypt pending the indictment of Senator Robert Menendez, his wife, and others who reportedly received bribes on behalf of the Egyptian government to secure support for foreign military sales and financing to the country, said Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN).

DAWN also called on Sen. Menendez to resign from the Senate and Congress to investigate all communications of Egyptian officials, agents, and lobbyists with U.S. officials in Congress, the State Department, and the White House to determine the extent of Egypt’s efforts to corrupt American political leaders.

“The shocking indictment of Sen. Menendez revealing Egypt’s bribery to secure military aid should result in a complete freeze on all aid to Egypt until every communication Egypt has had with U.S. officials is thoroughly and independently investigated,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN’s Executive Director. “The worst possible outcome here is if Senator Menendez goes to jail for accepting bribes from Egypt, but the White House continues to reward corrupt Egyptian officials with billions in taxpayer money.”

On September 22, U.S. prosecutors charged Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee between 2013 and 2015 and again since 2021, with taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes between 2018 and 2022 from New Jersey businessmen on behalf of Egypt and for other corrupt schemes. Prosecutors are accusing Menendez of breaching his official duty and using his influence and power to benefit the government of Egypt, including through providing “sensitive U.S. Government information” and other acts related to “foreign military sales and foreign military financing.”

Between 2018 and 2022, Egypt was one of the largest recipients of U.S. military aid in the world, including $1.3 billion per year in foreign military financing and other direct government-to-government military equipment sales. Just this month, Secretary Blinken issued a waiver to release $235 million of $320 million in military aid to Egypt that Congress had withheld because of the Egyptian government’s human rights failures. While the State Department is responsible for reviewing and approving military sales and financing, it honors “holds” placed on these transfers by the Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including Sen. Menendez, who yielded substantial influence and could hold the sales and transfers from occurring.The U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan said Menendez accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cash and gold bars in exchange for using his power and influence to benefit the Egyptian dictatorship.

“This corruption scandal should serve as a wake-up call for the sinister ways – legal and illegal – that foreign dictatorships are corrupting our government and undermining our democracy to secure U.S. military and political support,” said Raed Jarrar, DAWN’s Advocacy Director. “Congress and the White House have a duty to investigate every last word of interaction between U.S. officials and Egyptians and their lobbyists to examine the depth and breadth of the Egyptian government’s corruption of our country.”

DAWN urges the Biden administration to suspend all aid to Egypt until it is able to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation of all contacts by Egyptian officials, their agents, and their lobbyists with U.S. officials in Congress, the State Department and the White House, to determine the extent of Egypt’s corrupt practices. 

The Egyptian government relies on an army of highly paid Washington lobbyists to secure its billions in annual U.S. taxpayer support. Among its lobbyists are former U.S. officials, including Nadeam Elshami, former Chief of Staff for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; and Ed Royce, Former Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, whose work for the Egyptian government DAWN has investigated in its Lobbyist Gallery.  

DAWN urges Congress to pass legislation that will limit government corruption, such as the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act, and bar foreign government lobbyists from gaining access to the U.S. government, such as the “Fighting Foreign Influence Act” that imposes lifetime ban on former U.S. officials for lobbying for foreign principals. It should also implement much-needed reforms to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). DAWN also urges members of Congress to pledge to refrain from meeting with lobbyists working on behalf of foreign governments where there is credible information implicating the governments in gross violations of human rights or international humanitarian law, and to refrain from lobbying on behalf of, or working for, such foreign governments when they leave public service.

Finally, DAWN calls on the U.S. government to implement Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act and bar further assistance to Egypt in light of its human rights record. The Act prohibits security assistance, including arms sales, to any country the government of which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of human rights. 

At the king’s order, the Moroccan army was deployed to devastated mountain areas. Although the army has better resources to deal with emergencies than any other state agency in the country, the very nature of the terrain played against any rescue mission. In the rugged High Atlas, many roads were demolished by the earthquake; others were blocked by huge boulders and landslides. The lack of adequate infrastructure worsened the situation and provoked anger among those who simply did not receive assistance in time. Survivors who lost their loved ones in the rubble did not hold back their criticisms of the government. In a video posted on social media, a survivor who lost members of his family on the Taroudant side of the High Atlas condemned the slow response that led to the death of people who were not rescued in time. “Officials are not here,” he said. They only show up in these forsaken villages, he explained, when they need people’s votes during elections, before they disappear again—a practice that has plagued Moroccan politics for many decades now.

These survivors cannot be blamed for wanting to cling to any sign of hope that their loved ones could be saved. Yet this hope was running out against a long history of marginalization and territorial inequities in the High Atlas. Since Morocco’s independence from French colonial rule in 1956, the region has never received enough resources from the government to develop even basic infrastructure. The French colonial administration had divided the country into a “useful Morocco,” located in the arable plains and coastal areas rich with fisheries, and “useless Morocco,” situated east and south of the High Atlas. While the “useful Morocco” benefited from the construction of new cities and modern infrastructure, the “useless” side was mainly approached as a site of rebellion against colonial authorities and a source of mineral resources. This colonial legacy far outlasted the end of the French occupation since these mountain communities had, in many ways, been left on their own for decades by the post-independence state.

From big cities to small towns, Moroccans have rushed to donate whatever they can afford to help their fellow citizens. Caravans of aid and donations arrived from places as far as Oujda and the Rif. Despite the government’s awkward and slow response in the first hours of the tragedy, the collective mobilization of ordinary Moroccans after the earthquake created a moment of national solidarity as people discovered another part of their country that many would not have if it were not for the earthquake.

Not all of the destruction from the earthquake can be quantified. The hardest-hit regions of Chichaoua, El Haouz, Ouarzazate and Taroudant are all home to the Amazigh, or Imazighen, the indigenous people of North Africa (the Romans gave them the racializing name the Berbers). They speak Tamazight, the indigenous language spoken in a vast region extending from the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean to the oasis of Siwa in southwest Egypt. This is the Tamazgha or Amazigh homeland. The hundreds of High Atlas villages that were ravaged by the earthquake have distinctly Amazigh linguistic, cultural, social and cultural characteristics that, in the words of prominent Moroccan anthropologist Abdellah Hammoudi, formed a distinct “agrarian civilization.” Through its traditions, architectural style, agricultural culture and ecological makeup, this area has sustained a distinctly Amazigh way of life.

As a civilizational space, this area of the High Atlas has centuries-old mosques, kasbahs, shrines to Jewish and Muslim saints, and natural wonders of enormous environmental value. The mosque of Tinmel, which was the cradle of the Almohad dynasty in the 12^th century, and the 19^th-century kasbah of El Goundafi, were both entirely demolished in the earthquake. The earthquake also caused significant damage to El Glaoui’s historic kasbah in Telouet. These historical sites have been part of the landscape of the High Atlas for centuries, forming a crucial element in the cultural and spiritual geography of the mountain region. Their restoration is a matter of national importance. The Moroccan state should allocate funds to rebuild even privately owned sites of historical significance.

COP28 should be used to shine the global spotlight on the human rights violations perpetrated against communities inside the UAE — especially prisoners of conscience, migrant workers, women, and LGBTQI+ communities — and beyond, over 200 organizations, including Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), said in a joint letter released today.

The 200+ organizations called on participating governments at the COP28 Climate Conference to address the UAE’s ongoing human rights crisis and to ensure that COP28 climate negotiations produce the ambitious commitments necessary to address global climate change. The letter reiterated that “there can be no climate justice without human rights, and there can be no human rights without climate justice.”

The organizations affirmed that, “We, as a global network of civil society organizations, will not be silenced by a government that has long used surveillance, propaganda tactics, and violent repression to silence critics, control public discourse, and shut down civil society organizations and movements. We will not allow for COP28 and the urgent and ambitious climate commitments needed from this process to be derailed or watered down by greenwashing efforts. We will oppose any attempt to use COP28 and our presence to greenwash this repressive government.”

Below is the full letter to participating governments at COP28 and an Appendix detailing additional information on UAE human rights violations and climate concerns.

Letter to COP28 Participating Governments Regarding United Arab Emirates (UAE) Human Rights Violations and Climate Concerns

September 13, 2023

To the Participating Governments at the COP28 Climate Conference,

We write as a global network of organizations with grave human rights concerns regarding the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), host of the 2023 COP28 climate negotiations. We support the concerns expressed by climate justice movements that allowing COP28 to be held by the rulers of a repressive petrostate, and overseen by an oil executive, is reckless,  represents a blatant conflict of interest, and threatens the legitimacy of the whole process. 

Climate justice and human rights are deeply interconnected – there cannot be one without the other. As COP28 delegates prepare to attend the talks in Dubai, it is crucial for the international community to use the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the UAE’s human rights record, and to stand in solidarity with communities on the frontlines working to stop climate change impacts and human rights violations in the UAE and across the world. 

We, as a global network of civil society organizations, will not be silenced by a government that has long used surveillance, propaganda tactics, and violent repression to silence critics, control public discourse, and shut down civil society organizations and movements. We will not allow for COP28 and the urgent and ambitious climate commitments needed from this process to be derailed or watered down by greenwashing efforts. We will oppose any attempt to use COP28 and our presence to greenwash this repressive government. Rather, we call for COP28 to be used to shine the global spotlight on the human rights violations perpetrated against communities inside the UAE — especially prisoners of conscience, migrant workers, women, and LGBTQI+ communities — and beyond. We won’t allow for our solidarity to be weaponized by wealthy industrialized countries to point the finger at the UAE and at the same time refuse to take responsibility for their historical and continued human rights violations and for their historical and continued role in creating and fueling the climate crisis.

At COP28 and beyond, we reiterate our call that there can be no climate justice without human rights, and there can be no human rights without climate justice.

As a global network of civil society organizations, we the undersigned urge you to take the following immediate steps to address the UAE’s ongoing human rights crisis and to ensure that COP28 climate negotiations produce the ambitious commitments necessary to address global climate change:

1. Demand that the UAE not spy on COP28 attendees and end unlawful state surveillance that violates international human rights law and standards.

The UAE is a surveillance state that uses its technology to spy on millions of people both inside and outside its borders. The UAE must end all unlawful state surveillance that violates international human rights law and standards, including the right to privacy. The UAE must refrain from conducting surveillance related to COP28 and its attendees. In addition, the UAE must also cease the use of spyware and surveillance technologies to repress peaceful critics and journalists, stop censoring and controlling Internet usage and communication networks, and allow full access to all encrypted messenger apps and virtual private networks (VPNs). 

2. Call on the UAE to release all prisoners of conscience.

The rulers of the UAE have unjustly imprisoned numerous Emirati human rights defenders, civil society activists, and political dissidents. In 2021, these human rights concerns led the European Parliament to vote to “encourage Member States not to participate” in the UAE Dubai World Expo, a decision that received international attention. The UAE must release all prisoners of conscience, stop harassing their families, close all secret prisons, and stop torturing detainees.

3. Demand action on UAE violations of women’s rights. 

COP28 attendees must refuse to meet with UAE officials who have committed violence against women, such as Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (kidnapping of his adult daughters and spousal abuse) and UAE Minister of “Tolerance” Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan (accused of rape). The UAE must investigate and prosecute these individuals, free the disappeared Dubai Princess Shamsa, and repeal laws that discriminate against women.

4. Condemn UAE violations of LGBTQI+ rights.

The UAE must repeal all laws that criminalize LGBTQI+ individuals, end all discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and respect freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly for LGBTQI+ individuals.

5. Call for workers’ rights reforms and reparations for forced labor.

The UAE monarchy must pay reparations to all migrant workers who built or have worked at the site of the COP28 facilities (Expo City Dubai) under conditions of abuse and forced labor, commit to protecting migrant workers from exposure to extreme heat and related occupational risks, lift the ban on independent trade unions, abolish the Kafala system of labor sponsorship, and end all sex trafficking and conditions of sexual slavery in Dubai.

6. Urge the UAE to stop supporting human rights violators in Yemen and across the Middle East and North Africa.

The UAE must end its long history of supporting human rights violations and abuses by armed groups and governments that violate human rights, including in Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia. In Yemen, the UAE must pay reparations to people harmed by Saudi/UAE-led airstrikes on civilians and the Saudi/UAE military coalition’s blockade.  The UAE must also stop supporting abuses by armed groups in Yemen that are responsible for violations of international law. In Libya, the UAE must stop violating the UN Security Council’s comprehensive arms embargo and stop supplying arms to any armed forces in the country.

7. Publicly repudiate UAE greenwashing and fossil fuel hypocrisy:

The UAE must end its greenwashing campaign, abandon its plans to dramatically increase state oil and gas production, and rectify the profound conflict of interest created by UAE state oil company chief executive Sultan al-Jaber also serving as president of the COP28 climate negotiations.

In addition, we urge all nations to make meaningful and ambitious commitments at COP28, with rich countries taking responsibility for their historical emissions and leading the way with commitments in line with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities and principles of equity. COP28 must produce a global commitment to phase out all fossil fuels and fossil fuel subsidies at the speed needed to keep global average temperature increases below 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. 

The entire world will be impacted by the agreements reached during the COP28 climate negotiations. Unfortunately, the legitimacy of the conference and the work of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is at risk if human rights and civic space aren’t protected in the UAE and across the world, and if major polluters and rich countries continue to interfere with the urgent and drastic climate commitments that are needed. As global civil society organizations, groups, and movements, we reiterate our deepest concern and urgent call for both human rights and climate justice to be at the center of the COP process this year and always.

Sincerely,

Freedom Forward (USA)
Access Now (Global)
Action Corps (USA)
Action Jeunesse pour le Développement (AJED-Congo) (Africa)
Actions pour la Réinsertion Sociale de la Femme (ARSF) (Democratic Republic of Congo )
African Coalition on Green Growth (Zimbabwe)
AGHAM Advocates of Science and Technology for the People (Philippines)
Agir Pour La Sécurité Et La Souverainete Alimentaire Assa (Democratic Republic of Congo )
Aid/Watch (Australia)
AIKA Alliance (Madagascar / Africa)
All Nepal Peasants Federation (Nepal)
ALQST for Human Rights (UK)
Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union (Sub Saharan Africa )
Amanecer People’s Project (USA)
Amnesty International (Global)
APOC (Latin America)
ART NOT WAR (USA)
Asia Pacific Network of Environment Defenders (APNED) (Asia and the Pacific)
Asian Peoples Movement on Debt and Development (Asia)
Asociacion Ciudadana Por Los Derechos Humanos (Argentina)
Asociación Interamericana para la Defensa del Ambiente (AIDA) (Latin America)
Asociación La Ruta del Clima (Latin America)
Association APEDDUB (Tunisia / North Africa)
Association Jeunes Agriculteurs (AJA) (West Africa )
Association of Women of Southern Europe AFEM (Europe)
Association Pour Le Développement Rural Integre De Nganda Tsundi (Democratic Republic of Congo)
ATTAC CADTM Morocco (Morocco)
Attac France (France / Europe)
Avaaz (USA)
Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bangladesh)
Bank on our Future (UK)
BDS Movement for Palestinian Rights (Middle East / North Africa)
Better Brazoria: Clean Air & Water (USA)
Blue Earth organization (Kenya)
Budget Advocacy Network Sierra Leone (Sierra Leone)
Buliisa Initiative for Rural Development Organization (Uganda )
Cadire Cameroon Association (Cameroon / Central Africa )
CADTM International Network (Global)
Cameroon Women’s Peace Movement (CAWOPEM) (Cameroon / Central Africa )
CAN Africa (Africa)
CAN International (Global)
CAN Latin America (CANLA) (Latin America & the Caribbean)
Care About Climate (North America)
Center for Environmental Concerns – Philippines (Philippines / Asia)
Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
Center for International Policy (USA)
Center for Rights And Democracy (CRD) South Sudan (South Sudan )
Central Autónoma De Trabajadores Del Perú – CATP-PERU (Perú )
Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions, SAK (Europe)
Centre For 21st Century Issues (Nigeria / West Africa)
Centre for Citizens Conserving Environment & Management (CECIC) (Uganda)
Centre for Climatology and Applied Research (Botswana)
Centre for Environmental Justice (Sri Lanka)
Centre for Social Change (University of Johannesburg) (South Africa)
Centro de Desarrollo Humano. CDH/ Honduras (Latin America)
CGIL (Europe)
Chesapeake Climate Action Network (USA)
Citizen’s Network For Community Development Zambia (Zambia)
CIVICUS (Global)
Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues (USA)
Climate Action Network Australia (Australia)
Climate Action Network Zimbabwe (CANZIMBABWE) (Zimbabwe)
Climate Change Network for Community-based Initiatives,Inc (Philippines)
CODEPINK (USA)
Collectif Sénégalais des Africaines pour la Promotion de l’Éducation Relative à l’Environnement (COSAPERE) (Senegal / West Africa)
Confédération des Syndicats Nationaux (Québec / Canada / North America)
Confederación Nacional de Unidad Sindical (Dominican Republic)
Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) (USA)
Destination Zero (Canada)
Dibeen for Environmental Development (West Asia)
Disability Peoples Forum Uganda (Uganda)
Eco Women Initiative (Nigeria)
Ecologistas en Acción (Spain / Europe)
Electra Energy Cooperative (Greece / Europe)
Electronic Frontier Foundation (Global)
Emmaus International (Zimbabwe)
Equidem (India)
Extinction Rebellion US (USA)
FairSquare (UK)
Fairwatch (Europe)
Feminist Majority Foundation (USA)
FIDEP Foundation (Ghana )
Fiji Youth SRHR Alliance (Pacific)
Food Sovereignty and Climate Justice Forum (Nepal)
Friends of the Earth Finland (Europe)
Friends of the Earth International (Global)
Friends of the Earth Ireland (Europe)
Friends of the Earth Japan (Japan)
Friends of the Earth Norway (Naturvernforbundet) (Norway)
Friends of the Earth Scotland (Europe)
Fundacion Plurales (Argentina)
GAIA – Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (Global )
GARED (Togo)
GDMR (Mozambique )
Global Justice Now (Europe)
Global Platforms (East Africa )
Global Witness (Brazil / South America)
Green Leaf Advocacy and Empowerment Center (West Africa)
groundWork (Friends of the Earth, South Africa) (Africa)
Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) (Lebanon)
Health Advocacy International (USA)
Health of Mother Earth Foundation South Sudan (South Sudan / Eastern Africa )
Iceland Nature Conservation Association (Europe)
IFEX (Middle East / North Africa)
Indian National Trade Union Congress-INTUC (India / Asia)
Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL) (Global)
innovation pour le Développement et la Protection de l’Environnement (Democratic Republic of Congo )
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (USA)
International Action Network for Gender Equity & Law (IANGEL) (USA)
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) (Global)
International Network of Liberal Women (Europe)
International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) (Global)
International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) (Switzerland )
International Student Environmental Coaltion (Trinidad and Tobago / Caribbean)
International Tibet Network (UK)
International Trade Union Confederation – Asia Pacific (Asia and the Pacific)
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) (Global)
International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) (Global)
Italian Climate Network (Europe)
JA! Justica Ambiental (Mozambique)
Jordens Vänner / Friends of the Earth Sweden (Sweden)
Just Foreign Policy (USA)
Kikandwa Environmental Association (Uganda)
KIRDARC Nepal (Nepal)
KRuHA (Indonesia )
LDC Watch (Global / Least Developed Countries)
Legal Resources Foundation Trust (Kenya)
Lekeh Development Foundation (Nigeria )
Les Amis de la Terre-Togo (Togo)
Libyan American Alliance (USA)
Ligue Pour La Solidarité Congolaise (Democratic Republic of Congo / Africa)
Madagascar Gender and Climate Justice Coalition (Madagascar)
MADRE (Global)
Maison des Organisations de la Société Civile (MOSC) Anjouan (Comores)
Manica Youth Assembly Trust (Zimbabwe)
MARBE SA (Costa Rica)
MARMO-MAR MOÇAMBIQUE (Mozambique)
MENA Rights Group (Switzerland)
Mendoza Sin Fracking (Latin America)
MenEngage Global Alliance (Global)
Migrant Worker’s Voice (Uganda )
Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands) (The Netherlands)
Misereor (Europe)
National Alliance for Right to Food Nets (Nepal)
National Education Union (UK)
National Indigenous Disabled Women Association Nepal (NIDWAN) (Asia)
National Indigenous Women’s Federation (Nepal / South Asia)
Natural Justice (Africa)
Nipe Fagio (Tanzania / East Africa)
No Peace Without Justice (Global)
ODRI-Office against discrimination, racism and intolerance (Global)
Oil & Gas Action Network (North America)
Oilfield Witness (USA)
One Earth Sangha (USA)
Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (Pakistan )
Pathways for Women’s Empowerment and Development/Integrated Agricultural Training Center (PaWEDIATC) (Cameroon )
Peace Action (North America )
PEN America (USA)
People in Need (Czech Republic)
PLADES-PERU (Peru)
Politics4Her (Global)
Presente.org (USA)
Pro Natura /Friends of the Earth Switzerland (Switzerland)
Project On Middle East Democracy (POMED)
Razom We Stand (Ukraine )
Reacción Climática – Bolivia (Bolivia / Latin America)
RECODEF Sénégal AACJ (Senegal)
Recourse (UK)
Red de defensoras del Ambiente y el Buen Vivir (Argentina)
Red Ecofeminista Latinoamericana y del Caribe (Latin America & the Caribbean)
Regional Centre for International Development Cooperation – RCIDC (Uganda)
Réseau Des Associations Pour La Protection De L’environnement Et La Nature Rapen (West Africa )
Responsible Growth * NE Washington (USA)
ReThinking Foreign Policy (USA)
Rinascimento Green (Italy)
Rise Economy (formerly California Reinvestment Coalition) (USA)
Rural Area Development Programme (RADP) (Nepal)
Rural Reconstruction Nepal (RRN) (Nepal)
Sak (Democratic Republic of Congo)
Salam for Democracy and Human Rights (UK )
San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility (USA)
Saramba Initiative (Madagascar)
Seneca Lake Guardian (USA)
SHE Changes Climate (Global)
Sierra Leone School Green Club (SLSGC) (Africa)
SMEX (Lebanon)
SOBREVIVENCIA, Amigos de la Tierra Paraguay (Latin America)
South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE) (South Asia)
South Durban Community Environmental Aliance (South Africa)
Southern Africa Climate Change Coalition (Botswana)
Southern African Faith Communities Environment Institute (SAFCEI) (Southern Africa)
Stay Grounded Network (Global)
Sukaar Welfare Organization (Pakistan )
Terre Des Du Burundi-Transnational (Africa)
The General Federation of Workers’ Unions in Iraq/The General Union of Workers in Iraq Electricity (Iraq)
The Noordhoek Environmental Action Group (NEAG) (South Africa)
Third Act (USA)
Tierra Nativa / Amigos de la Tierra Argentina (Argentina)
TRAFFED (Democratic Republic of Congo)
Trend Asia (Indonesia)
Tunisian United Network (USA)
Turtle Island Restoration Network (USA)
UDAPT (Ecuador)
Unión General de Trabajadoras y Trabajadores de España (UGT) (Europe)
Vigilance for Democracy and the Civic State (Tunisia)
Waterberg Women Advocacy Organization (South Africa)
WE-Women From Indigenous Nationalities (WE-WIN) (Nepal / South Asia)
Western New York Peace Center (USA)
Win Without War (USA)
Women Empowerment Against Poverty of Nepal (WEAPoN) (Nepal)
Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (Global)
Women in Law and Development in Africa-Afrique de l’Ouest (WiLDAF-AO) (Togo)
World Friends for Africa Burkina Faso (Burkina Faso / West Africa )
World Organisation Against Torture (Global)
Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation (USA)
Youth and Environment Europe (YEE) (Europe)
YouthNet for Climate Justice (Global)
Zimbabwe Climate Change Coalition (Zimbabwe)
350 Côte d’Ivoire (Côte d’Ivoire / West Africa)
7 Directions of Service (USA)

APPENDIX:  Additional Information on UAE Human Rights Violations and Climate Concerns

1. Demand that the UAE not spy on COP28 attendees and end unlawful state surveillance that violates international human rights law and standards.

The UAE is a surveillance state that uses its technology to spy on millions of people both inside and outside its borders. We urge you to publicly call on the UAE to:

• cease all planned surveillance of COP28 attendees,
• refrain from censoring communication networks, 
• allow the free use and full functionality of all encrypted messenger apps, and 
• stop using surveillance technology to spy on and repress peaceful critics inside the UAE and worldwide.

As documented by Amnesty International and Citizen Lab, the UAE has a long record of spying on human rights defenders, including imprisoned human rights advocate Ahmed Mansoor. Two separate Reuters news reports document how the UAE, with the support of hired U.S. intelligence operatives, spied on journalists, activists, and political leaders worldwide, including Yemeni Nobel Peace laureate Tawokkol Karman.  

In 2019, the New York Times reported that ToTok, a cell phone messaging app downloaded globally by millions, was actually a UAE mass surveillance tool, and Google and Apple removed the popular app from their online stores. Evidence also suggests that the UAE is also likely to have been behind the digital surveillance of other public figures, including government officials, human rights defenders, and journalists and editors. The UAE was also likely to be one of the customers of NSO Group, the Israeli producer of Pegasus hacking-and-surveillance software.

2. Call on the UAE to release all prisoners of conscience.

UAE authorities have unjustly imprisoned numerous Emirati human rights defenders, civil society activists, and political dissidents. We urge you to publicly call on the UAE to:

• release all prisoners of conscience, 
• stop harassing their families, 
• close all secret prisons, and 
• stop torturing detainees and holding them in solitary confinement..

For over a decade, UAE authorities have unjustly detained over 60 Emirati human rights defenders, civil society activists, and political dissidents who were arrested due to their demands for reform and democracy. Many from this group, commonly known as the “UAE94”, were subjected to enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment. As documented by the SANID human rights campaign, more than three-quarters of these prisoners remain in prison, despite 55 of them having completed their unjust sentences. Families of the imprisoned have been subjected to unrelenting reprisals.   In 2021, these human rights concerns led the European Parliament to vote to “encourage Member States not to participate” in the UAE Dubai World Expo, a decision that received international attention. 

3. Demand action on UAE violations of women’s rights: 

The UAE has an extensive record of violating women’s rights, including discriminatory laws and even personal acts of violence against women by senior ruling elites. We urge you to take the following steps to push for an end to the UAE’s terrible record on women’s rights:

• Pledge not to meet with or join events with senior UAE officials who have committed, or are accused of committing, violence against women. These individuals include Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (kidnapping of his adult daughters and spousal abuse) and UAE Minister of “Tolerance” Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan (accused of rape).
• Call for an independent investigation and prosecution of Dubai ruler Sheikh Maktoum and UAE Minister of “Tolerance” Sheikh Nahyan for their documented and alleged acts of violence against women.
• Call for freedom for Dubai Princess Shamsa, who has not been seen publicly since she was kidnapped in 2000 by her father, Dubai ruler Sheikh Al Maktoum.
• Call for repeal of the UAE’s male guardianship laws and other laws that discriminate against women.

The government enforces a system of discrimination and male control over Emirati women. UAE law also discriminates based on gender in the transmission of citizenship from parent to child. All children born to an Emirati father become Emirati nationals from the moment of birth, while children born to an Emirati mother but a non-Emirati father can only be granted Emirati nationality by special permission from the government, and can only be applied for at least six years after birth.

4. Condemn UAE violations of LGBTQI+ rights

The UAE criminalises and discriminates against LGBTQI+ individuals, including laws that infringe on the right of consenting adults to freely decide their own sexual practices. We urge you to call for the upholding of the human rights of LGBTQI+ people in the UAE and to demand that the UAE end its discrimination against, and criminalisation and oppression of, LGBTQI+ individuals 

• Call for the repeal of all UAE laws that criminalise LGBTQI+ individuals, whether the criminalization is through explicit provisions or through the impact of vague, overly broad and legally undefined terms.
• Call for the prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in the UAE
• Demand the safeguarding of freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly for LGBTQI+ communities.

5. Call for workers’ rights reforms and reparations for forced labor.

We urge you to call on the UAE monarchy to:  

• Pay reparations to all migrant workers who built or have worked at the site of the COP28 facilities under conditions of abuse and forced labor.
• Commit to protecting migrant workers from exposure to extreme heat, which can lead to potentially fatal injuries and illnesses.
• Lift the ban on independent labor unions and allow all workers in the UAE to organize and advocate for their needs.
• Abolish the Kafala system of labor sponsorship, which traps many migrant and foreign workers in systems of human trafficking, forced labor, and other abuses.
• End all sex trafficking and conditions of sexual slavery in Dubai.

Approximately 90 percent of the UAE’s 9 million population are foreign nationals — most of whom are low-wage and semi-skilled workers from Africa, Asia, and elsewhere in the Middle East. Even the U.S. government, a major ally and enabler of UAE human rights violations, stated in its 2023 US Trafficking in Persons report on the UAE that “it is not uncommon for employers to subject some of these workers to conditions indicative of forced labor, such as passport retention, non-payment of wages and unpaid overtime, restrictions on movement, contract switching, fraudulent employment promises, substandard food and housing provisions, or a failure to meet other contractual agreements.” And as reported by Reuters earlier this year, sex trafficking persists in the UAE without serious efforts by Emirati authorities to end it.”

The very site where COP28 will be held was built and has been staffed by workers who were abused and subjected to forced labor. The COP28 climate negotiations will occur in Expo City Dubai, a site that was originally built for the UAE Dubai Expo 2020. As documented by labor rights organization Equidem during the time of Expo 2020, “migrant workers engaged on projects at Expo 2020 Dubai across a range of sectors — from hospitality and retail to construction and security — are being subjected to forced labour practices.” More than 40,000 workers were employed in the Expo City Dubai construction process, and thousands of additional migrant workers have performed other forms of work. The “majority of Expo 2020 Dubai workers interviewed faced forced labour practices.” Without proper investigation and reparations for these workers, COP28 climate negotiations will occur on the backs of abused workers. 

6. Urge the UAE to stop supporting human rights violators in Yemen and across the Middle East and North Africa.

We urge you to demand that the UAE:

7. Publicly repudiate UAE greenwashing and fossil fuel hypocrisy:

We urge you to publicly reject the UAE’s massive campaign of greenwashing, propaganda, and fossil fuel hypocrisy.  Specifically, we urge you to commit to the following actions: 

• Demand that the UAE abandon plans to dramatically increase state oil and gas production.
• Oppose Sultan al-Jaber serving simultaneously as COP28 president and CEO of UAE state oil company ADNOC.
• Call for adoption of a COP28 global commitment to the rapid, equitable, and full phase out of all fossil fuels and all fossil fuel subsidies at the speed necessary to keep global average temperature increases below 1.5C.

As host of COP28, the UAE has repeatedly issued climate-friendly statements while simultaneously pursuing a dramatic expansion of its oil and gas production. Ninety percent of the UAE’s government revenue comes from its fossil fuel industries, and the UAE monarchy uses this vast fossil fuel wealth to fund internal repression and regional interventions that violate human rights. Furthermore, the UAE has appointed the very individual in charge of its fossil fuel expansion — ADNOC chief executive Sultan al-Jaber — to preside over the COP28 climate negotiations.  In early 2023, Climate Action Network and Amnesty International called for al-Jaber to step down as CEO of the UAE’s state oil company. Over 450 climate organizations have  declared that “No COP overseen by a fossil fuel executive can be seen as legitimate.” And in May of 2023, over 130 Members of the European Parliament and U.S. Members of Congress called for al-Jaber’s removal as COP28 president.