Joint Submission to the Human Rights Council at the 43rd Session of the Universal Periodic Review. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Introduction 1. SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights (SALAM DHR), the MENA Statelessness Network (Hawiati) and the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI) make this joint submission to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), on the right to a nationality and human rights challenges pertaining to statelessness in the United Arab Emirates. 2. SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights (SALAM DHR) 1 is an independent nongovernmental organisation that promotes adherence to international human rights standards and the principles of democracy, including through partnerships. Registered in several European states, it is not able to work in Bahrain, where it nonetheless has members. 3. The MENA Statelessness Network (Hawiati)2 is a network that promotes awareness about, and seeks to end statelessness in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It bridges actors working on, and interested in, statelessness in MENA; actors and individuals affected by statelessness across the region as well as policy makers. 4. The Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI)3 is the first and only human rights NGO dedicated to working on statelessness at the global level. ISI’s mission is to promote inclusive societies by realising and protecting everyone’s right to a nationality. The Institute has made over 90 country specific UPR submissions on the human rights of stateless persons. ISI has also compiled summaries of the key human rights challenges related to statelessness in all countries under review under the 23rd to the 41st UPR Sessions. 5. This submission draws on the research, advocacy and engagement of the co-submitting organisations to focus on the following issues: I. II. III. IV. Gender discrimination in Emirati nationality Law; Arbitrary deprivation of nationality; Comoros passports: No solution to statelessness in the UAE; Human rights violations faced by stateless people. 1 For more information about SALAM DHR, see: https://salam-dhr.org/?lang=en. For more information about Hawiati, see: https://www.hawiati-mena.org/. 3 For more information about ISI, see: https://www.institutesi.org/. 2 1