🚨The UAE’s “largest legal reform in its history”:

The UAE govt says it is changing 40 laws in January. Some are new & some previously reported.

Major changes concern:
- out-of-wedlock relationships
- commercial companies
- online security
- trade
- residency
- narcotics

🧵
Some major changes previously reported (a year ago) that will become law in Jan:

- decriminalising premarital sex
- decriminalising alcohol consumption
- decriminalising suicide
- decriminalising living with a member of the opposite sex
- stronger penalties for "honour killings”
One important clarification here:
- Children can be legally born out of wedlock

Parents “will be required to marry or singly or jointly acknowledge the child & provide identification papers”

I reported this last year on a tip but the govt was hush-hush: thetimes.co.uk/article/unmarr…
More changes:
- a Federal Crime and Punishment Law offering better protection for women & domestic servants, public safety & also eases restrictions on extra-marital relationships. This law will also cover the decriminalisation of the social behaviours outlined in tweet above
- This law sets the legal drinking age at 21
- Life imprisonment for rape of a victim under 18, if disabled or condition “unable to offer resistance” offender can face death sentence
- 10,000 AED fine for indecent assault “regardless of the victim’s gender” - prison if severe
This is interesting
- consensual extra-marital sex now punishable with 6 months in prison - a criminal case for the crime is possible “only with a complaint from the husband or guardian”
More:
- “One of the most important provisions newly introduced by the Crime and Punishment Law is that the law be applied to anyone who commits, or participates in, a premeditated murder that occurs against a citizen of the UAE even if the crime takes place outside the country.”
Other changes:
- Online Security Law regarding cyber-crimes and combatting online harassment, bullying and ‘fake news’
- a law that gives digital signatures the same weight as a handwritten signatures
- Personal Data Protection Law to protect residents’ privacy
It does seem like most of these changes have been reported before. The govt seems to be simply announcing a date (January 2022) for the laws to be put in place. Because, for example, you still need an alcohol license in Dubai despite decriminalisation announced a year ago
All the changes are here: wam.ae/en/details/139…

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More from @Ash_Stewart_

3 Nov
Friend in Dubai recently lost his job due to having mental health issues. A deplorable reason - but this kind of thing happens often because employees have little rights.

I wish this was spoken about. But also, when it happened to me, I was quiet

Want to rectify that now (🧵)
I was fired in the middle of the pandemic without warning, without reason, from The National. They were advertising 45 other jobs at the time.

A week or so earlier, I'd tweeted a story a colleague had written on delivery drivers being treated poorly in the UAE. I'd said...
...that we needed to treat these people better. That, like the story said, hosing the ground with water so they couldn't sit down etc and yelling at them to move was a horrible way to treat people. This was a great story and was highlighting a hugely important issue.
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As promised, an #Expo2020 thread on pavilions to visit, food, where to find alcohol etc etc

I barely scraped the surface of this place in my 4 days of exploring but here’s what I found… ImageImageImageImage
TIPS:
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Breaking: New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern announces Level 3 lockdown for Auckland for 3 days from midnight - the rest of NZ goes to Level 2

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'We are going hard and early'
For Auckland:
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7 Nov 20
🚨Law reforms in the UAE 🚨: The Government has just announced a huge raft of legal reforms in the United Arab Emirates.

The biggest takeaways (a thread):

- Alcohol decriminalised
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- Unmarried couples can now live together
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I can't overstate how huge these changes are - will now break each down below:
Read 13 tweets
11 Oct 20
The economic fallout of #Covid19 means many blue collar workers in Dubai have been left destitute - no job, visa or money for a flight home

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A thread & my @Telegraph story below:

telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/10/0…
Dozens of Sri Lankan expats are the latest to congregate in a Satwa park. Most are on a 3-month visit visa and came to Dubai earlier this year to seek work. Some had jobs but lost them due to the pandemic.

Some have been sleeping in the park for as long as 2 weeks
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@RAKTourism @BearGrylls #VisitRasAlKhaimah
The first of its kind in the region, the camp invites adventurers of any ability to get out and explore the wadis of RAK while learning how to survive in the wild
You’ll learn how to use a knife like @sophieprideaux - warrior woman Image
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