DUBAI // The series of glass domes in a valley in Cornwall, in rural south-west England, looks thoroughly out of place.
Built for the millennium, they are the Eden Project, a conservation effort intended to provide people with an education experience and preserve some of the world's threatened habitats.
Now Dubai - perhaps a more fitting home for a futuristic cityscape - is planning its own domed village, with a rather different message to promote: human rights.
The project is necessary, according to Dr Sultan al Jamal, director of the Dubai Police's anti-human trafficking department, because too many people in the UAE are unaware of the idea of human rights.
"People here need to take the initiative and be brave and fight for human rights," he said at a panel meeting at The Shelter yesterday to mark World Human Rights Day, the 61st anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Dr al Jamal added that people needed to become more engaged in the struggle to protect human rights. "Take women, children, labourers, for example," he said. "We need to put the spotlight on them."
In recent comments, Andrea al Balawi, the programme development manager for the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children, said: "Human rights - often sound or feel very abstract.
"All our work is where the rubber meets the road: taking high-minded principles and putting them into practice."
The Human Rights Village, whose location has yet to be decided, will consist of five domes addressing different topics, and will be available and accessible to everyone.
The first dome will focus on human rights from birth to death, the second on health, the third on food and water, the fourth on education, and the fifth will consist of a "challenging room" where issues are discussed and addressed.
Each dome will also have classrooms for training with specialists in specific areas of human rights, said Dr al Jamal.
There will also be a sixth dome dedicated to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to honour his efforts to promote human rights.
Urs Stirnimann, a legal consultant based in Dubai and former delegate to the International Committee of the Red Cross, emphasised that human rights work had to start at home.
"It is more difficult to clean up your own house than to go to someone else's and tell them how to clean theirs," he said. "It needs to come from within."
According to him, there is no country in the world that has not violated human rights at some point, and those violations need to be addressed.
The UAE has sometimes been criticised in the foreign media and by international pressure groups for its human rights record.
Githu Muigai, the UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism and xenophobia, drew attention to the problem of human trafficking in the UAE after a five-day visit to the country in October. He also called for an end to discrimination against migrant workers, and voiced concerns about the system of granting citizenship.
In May, the Government expressed its disappointment at a report by the pressure group Human Rights Watch on labour conditions on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, arguing that the organisation had failed to recognise its concerted efforts to improve the conditions.
The report claimed conditions for construction workers on the island amounted to "forced labour".
Dr Anwar Gargash, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said the report was an attempt to sensationalise the issue.
nsamaha@thenational.ae
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
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more from Janine di Giovanni
Final scores
18 under: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)
- 14: Jason Scrivener (AUS)
-13: Rory McIlroy (NIR)
-12: Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP)
-11: David Lipsky (USA), Marc Warren (SCO)
-10: Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Chris Paisley (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Company%20profile
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Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
The biog
Occupation: Key marker and auto electrician
Hometown: Ghazala, Syria
Date of arrival in Abu Dhabi: May 15, 1978
Family: 11 siblings, a wife, three sons and one daughter
Favourite place in UAE: Abu Dhabi
Favourite hobby: I like to do a mix of things, like listening to poetry for example.
Favourite Syrian artist: Sabah Fakhri, a tenor from Aleppo
Favourite food: fresh fish
RESULTS
5pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Purebred Arabian Cup Conditions (PA) Dh 200,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Cup Conditions (PA) Dh 200,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Winked, Connor Beasley, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Cup Listed (TB) Dh 380,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Boerhan, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
6.30pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Group 3 (PA) Dh 500,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Jewel Crown Group 1 (PA) Dh 5,000,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Messi, Pat Dobbs, Timo Keersmaekers
7.30pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Handicap (PA) Dh 150,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Harrab, Ryan Curatolo, Jean de Roualle
8pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AF Alareeq, Connor Beasley, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford