“CITIZEN,
THIRD CLASS”: FINDINGS FROM RI’S STATELESS PROJECT
United Arab Emirates
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Bidoon (which means persons
without nationality) are broadly represented by two major groups, Arabs
(from neighboring countries) and non-Arabs (mainly from Iran and the
Indian Sub-Continent) whose families settled in the Gulf generations
ago as merchants or workers. Exact numbers of the Bidoon are not
generally known, but they have been unofficially estimated at about
100,000. While these individuals are not subject to deportation
by the
authorities, they do face discrimination in the labor market and, as a
result, encounter socio-economic challenges.
The Bidoon in the UAE
have limited access to medical care and education, and without
passports and other basic identity documents, are restricted in their
movement both within the country and internationally. The UAE
government has recently undertaken an initiative to address human
rights. It is important these plans address the situation
of Bidoon
who do not have effective nationality, and as a result, face
unnecessary hardship.
Like many of the world’s stateless, the Bidoon are trapped in a system
that allows them no protection. Refugees International has
recommended
and is advocating for the government of the United Arab Emirates to
take concrete steps to end statelessness in the UAE, giving special
attention to stateless children born on Emereti soil. The UAE
should
also sign the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless
Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and
make a tangible gesture in upholding human rights.
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