The United Arab Emirates is a federation of 7 semi-autonomous emirates ruled by 7 hereditary rulers who form the Federal Supreme Council that makes up the legislative and executive body. The Council from among its members selects a President for a 5-year term, and the President then appoints the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Traditional rule is patriarchal, and political allegiance is a question of loyalty to the Emirs. There are no elections, no democratic institutions and no political parties. Concerns are addressed to leaders through a majlis or council. 40 advisors to the Federal National Council (FNC) are appointed for 2-year terms. These advisors review draft laws and decrees before adoption. The President has announced that 50% of the FNC will be elected for the first time in its history, though the timetable for the elections has not been determined.

Few women serve in senior government or business positions, and none is in the FNC. No members of the Shi'a minority are in top positions in government. The judiciary is independent in law, but its decisions are subject to review by the political leaders.

Equality without regard to race, nationality or social status is provided in law, but discrimination is practised against some groups.

A dual court system is based on civil law for civil matters and Shari'a law for criminal and family matters, with variation according to each emirate's interpretation of Shari'a. Islam is the official religion. Friday sermons for Sunni and Shi'a imams are prepared by the government, and the sermon deliveries are monitored. Courts impose flogging sentences for adultery, prostitution and premarital sex, as well as for defamation and drug or alcohol abuse. An anti-terrorism law allows suspects to be held without charge for 6 months.

Freedom of speech and of the press are guaranteed in law but restricted in practice. Access to government information is provided for in law, but requests usually go unanswered. It is forbidden to criticise the ruling families and the government or to make statements that threaten social stability. Self-censorship by journalists is reported, as is censorship of international mail. The government Internet service provider blocks sites considered objectionable. The Ministry of Information licenses all publications, and censors review imported media. However, satellite receiving dishes are widespread and provide access to international broadcasts without censorship.

A police study cites bribery, nepotism, embezzlement and abuse of power in local administrations. Anti-corruption units within the police have been established to investigate and prosecute violators.

Trafficking continues of women and girls to be used as prostitutes and domestic servants and of men to be used as servants, labourers and unskilled workers. Convictions of traffickers have taken place. The government has acted to end the practice of young boys used as camel jockeys.

Both civil and Shari'a law criminalise homosexual activity and allow discrimination based on sexual orientation. Expatriate residents who are HIV-positive are denied health care benefits. They are quarantined and deported, while citizens with HIV receive free health care.

Education is compulsory to the end of the Grade 9, but the law is not enforced. Citizens can have free public education through university. Citizen children attend gender-segregated primary schools. Statistics for 2004-05 show student dropout rates of 9.9% among primary students, 8.3% in Grades 6 to 9 and 9.3% in Grades 10 to 12. Non-citizen resident children are not permitted to enrol in public schools unless they live in rural areas that lack private schools.

Foreign workers receive education allowances as part of their salary packages. For those who do not receive an education benefit, the government provides an annual subsidy of US$1,600 (6,000 dirhams) per family to non-citizen employees for private school tuition. Housing benefits are granted to citizens with children. Government employees who are citizens receive higher salaries to support their unmarried or disabled children under age 18.

A 2-year programme begins at age 4. At this level 72% of education is private. The Net Enrolment Rate (NER) is 45%. All 4,218 ECE teachers are women, and 50% of them are trained. The pupil/teacher ratio (PTR) is 18 : 1.

Education is compulsory for ages 6 to 14. Primary school begins at age 6 and lasts 5 years. At this level 58% of education is private. The NER is 71% (48% female). Of students who enrol in Grade 1, 95% reach the last grade of primary school. 2% of students repeat grades. There are 16,971 primary teachers (83% female), of whom 61% are trained. The PTR is 15 : 1.

Secondary education begins at age 11 and lasts 7 years. At this level 41% of education is private. 2% of students in upper secondary education study in technical vocational programmes. The NER is 62%. 4% of students repeat grades. There are 20,768 secondary teachers, 10,964 (56% female) in lower secondary and 9,804 (55% female) in upper secondary education, and 47% of them are trained. The PTR is 16 : 1 in lower secondary and 11 : 1 in upper secondary schools.

68,182 students (66% female) study in tertiary institutions, for a Gross Enrolment Rate of 22%. At the same time, 4,384 UAE students are studying abroad, mainly in the UK (1,633), the USA (1,248), Australia (859), Ireland (113) and India (68).

Most public buildings provide access for disabled persons. Discrimination against persons with disabilities in education or in other state services is not reported as a problem. 5 federal rehabilitation centres for the disabled are available to citizens, as well as a training and employment centre. Some education is provided for students with mental disabilities, but education is not open to all disabled children because of inadequacies in training for teachers and others as well as a lack of support personnel. The federal government reserves 1% of positions for persons with disabilities.

The law does not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, and the government has not established a system for providing protection to refugees.

Discrimination is reported to occur against non-citizens, who account for about 85% of the national population. More than half of all foreign workers come from India. Non-citizens are denied access to some services provided by the government, including education for children and adults, health care and housing.

Academic materials are censored. Students are not allowed to have books featuring the human body or dealing with sexuality. 10 intellectuals were stopped from publishing opinion pieces in the media, 2 of whom have been allowed to return to writing and teaching.

Shari'a law governs the personal status of women, while civil law governs their civic and commercial activities. Social discrimination against women is reported, with some employers requiring the written consent of a husband before a woman is considered for hiring. Women can own their own businesses. Equal pay for work of equal value is not enacted, and women face discrimination in promotion. Public sector employees may receive as much as 6 months' maternity leave, but teachers receive only 45 days' maternity leave with a guaranteed position on return. Women account for 42% of employees in education but 66% of university students. Some private universities are coeducational, but the only public coeducational education occurs in the UAE Executive MBA Program. Women's centres provide adult education and technical training courses.

When a woman marries she keeps control of her property (including her dowry) and any income derived from her property. If divorced, a woman keeps her property and any property settlement with her husband, and she is given a maintenance allowance for herself and her children. Women normally inherit less than men from their family, with a brother inheriting twice as much as his sister. Divorce is permissible, but difficult for a woman to obtain. Polygamy is allowed. Divorced women have custody of female children until the age of maturity or marriage but have custody of male children only until age 13.

Domestic abuse is a problem. Male guardians have a legal right to use physical violence to discipline women and children who are family members. Men have been prosecuted for harassment of women in public, but women are reluctant to file charges. Some employers are accused of physically and sexually abusing women domestic servants. Female genital mutilation is practised among some foreign residents, who use private clinics for the purpose because the procedure is forbidden in public hospitals and clinics. The UAE is a destination country for women trafficked for sexual exploitation.

The minimum age for employment is 15, and for ages 15 to 18 special provisions apply to working conditions. Work permits are not issued for foreign workers under the age 18.

The UAE has banned the use of children in camel races, with their risk of injury and death. Children rescued from work as camel jockeys are reportedly being rehabilitated and repatriated, as they are eligible to receive 2 years of assistance for their health, education, job and other rehabilitation needs. To enforce the law, immigration controls have been tightened, identification cards for jockeys are now required before they can race and medical tests of age and fitness level have been made a prerequisite of jockey ID cards. UNICEF reports that the measures seem to be working, though observers continue to report sightings of young boys training and racing camels.

Workers are neither prohibited from forming and joining trade unions nor given the right to do so. Professional organisations exist, and in fact the only workers' associations in the country are professional associations: of teachers, jurists, engineers, medical professionals and social workers. Professional associations have limited freedom to lobby for redress of complaints and to file grievances. Foreign workers may join professional associations, but without voting rights. International affiliation by professional associations must be approved by the government. Government employees work under the civil service law. Domestic servants and agricultural workers are not covered under any labour law.

As with the right to organise, the law is silent on the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike. Strikes have taken place without retaliation to protest unpaid wages, delays in issuing work visas and hazardous working conditions. Public sector strikes are prohibited on national security grounds. Collective work dispute resolution is permitted instead. Free trade zones do not have to comply with labour laws.

Forced or compulsory labour is prohibited, but some foreign workers brought into the country end up working in such conditions. Foreign workers can be deported for breach of contract if they strike. The government does not have minimum wage guidelines. Foreign workers often do not earn enough to obtain residency permits for their families. The monthly minimum salary to allow for residency permits for an accompanying family is US $1,090 (3,924 dirhams). The standard work week is 48 hours, though labour standards are not enforced. Domestic servants and agricultural workers often work long hours.