On The case of Ryan Cornelius in Dubai

B100328/2025

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on The case of Ryan Cornelius in Dubai

(2025/2796(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to Rules 150 of its Rules of Procedure,

–having regard to European Parliament, resolution on the case of human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor in the United Arab Emirates,

A.whereas the government of the United Arab Emirates has a disturbing track record of arbitrary detention, unfair trials, and allegations of torture usually targeting human rights defenders, activists, judges, academics, students, but also businesspeople;

B.whereas British citizen and businessman Ryan Cornelius was arrested and arbitrarily detained in Dubai in May 2008; whereas his trial was fundamentally flawed and he had no access to legal representation; whereas scores of Emirati activists, academics and lawyers are also serving lengthy sentences in UAE prisons following unfair trials on vague and broad charges;

C.whereas the United Arab Emirates remain among the few countries internationally that have not become state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);

1.Calls on the UAE to release Ryan Cornelius and all other arbitrarily detained persons;

2.Reiterates its condemnation of the complete repression of dissent in the UAE evidenced by the arbitrary incarceration of human rights defenders in the UAE, notably Ahmed Mansoor, Mohammed al-Roken and Nasser bin Ghaith, solely for exercising their basic human rights, i.e. rights to freedom of speech, association, peaceful assembly and expression both online and offline, rights enshrined in universal human rights instruments, and the Arab Charter on Human Rights; deeply deplores the gap between the UAE’s claims to be a tolerant and rights-respecting country and the fact that human rights defenders, lawyers, and academics are detained arbitrarily in harsh conditions;

3.Calls on the UAE to become state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and other relevant international human rights tools;

4.Welcomes the 12 Human Rights Dialogues that the UAE has hitherto held with the EU but urges the European Commission to increase efforts to securing concrete human rights progress, such as the release of unlawfully detained prisoners, the end of abusive policies and the reform or repeal of laws that are in contravention of international human rights standards;

5.Calls on the European Commission to execute an independent human rights impact assessment ahead of negotiating the Special Partnership Agreement (SPA) with the UAE, and make the agreement´s conclusion conditional upon the UAE´s accession to the ICCPR and ICESCR;

6.Calls on the European Commission as part of the SPA with the UAE to establish confidential, formal human rights dialogue platforms between civil society and authorities from both sides that guarantee all actors protection from potential retaliation; appeals to the European Commission to include the access of independent human rights monitors to the UAE into the agreement;

7.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Government and Parliament of the UAE, the HR/VP, the Commission, the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, and the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council;