…One of the largest issues at COP28 was how to ensure the safety and dignity of what will likely be hundreds of millions of people, if not more, who will become climate migrants. But if the UAE’s own treatment of climate migrants is any indication, this government cannot be trusted to lead the global community in finding climate solutions—on this front or any other…

Among some of the regime’s worst offenses is its treatment of migrant workers through its kafala system, which leaves the immigration and employment status of migrant workers in the hands of private citizens and corporations. In recent years, there have been reports of confiscated passports keeping migrants trapped in the UAE, and of poor living conditions…

As the UAE seeks to leverage COP28 to bolster its standing on the international stage, I knew, given my previous work in researching human rights abuses, that it was important to dig deep into the realities of what migrant workers are currently facing. What I found shocked me: the UAE has not only continued to neglect and abuse migrant workers but also abused climate migrants at the site of COP28…