DUBAI, 27 November 2007 — Four founding board members of the Emirates Human Rights Association (EHRA) handed in their resignation citing mismanagement as the reason.
The resigning members complained that the board had not met in the past five months, a charge denied by EHRA Chairman Abdul Ghafar Hussain, who says the members were informed of meetings but failed to show up.
The members complained that the chairman of the board and the secretary-general were not including the rest of the board members in the decision-making process. They also said that official statements had been issued in the association’s name without their knowledge. They said official delegations were visiting the association without them being informed.
The organization, which was formally licensed in February 2006, is the first such rights body in the UAE; it was legalized by the Ministry of Social Affairs.
The members who resigned are: Aisha Sultan, a prominent Emirati columnist who was the deputy chairperson and the official spokesperson of EHRA, Ibtisam Al-Kutbi, Nesreen Murad and Khalfan Musabah.
The EHRA chairman brushed aside the allegation that official visits were happening without the members’ knowledge. “If a delegation visits the association then of course we will receive them,” he said.
The EHRA was launched to raise human rights awareness and ensure equal treatment for all residents in the UAE, regardless of their ethnicity, faith, color or gender.
The organization also calls for dialogue and social, economic and political justice. It prepares reports on prisoners and political dissidents in custody. The organization deals with human rights violations “by raising the issues with the executive authorities”.
