UAE: Both citizens, expats 'equal before the law,' says NHRI chairperson

Maqsoud Kruse, the newly-appointed Chairperson of the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), said that the NHRI will be working very closely with its international counterparts, including the United Nations, in order to preserve and enhance human rights.

In an interview with the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Kruse explained that "through a variety of initiatives, NHRI focuses on spreading the culture of human rights where the rule of law becomes the main theme".

Among the initiatives are seminars and workshops, which NHRI will conduct, as well as annual reports that it will produce to monitor the status of human rights in the UAE, in collaboration with the relevant entities at different governmental sectors and the civil society.

"The National Human Rights Institution's main objective is to enhance human rights within the UAE for all those who live in this country. Whether you are a citizen or a resident, we are all equal before the law," Kruse said, stressing that it is important to work together and collaborate to develop the notion of human rights at all levels.

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"All matters of human rights boil down to a simple notion: human dignity. For us to work together as a community, we need to be able to understand how we can function in a constructive, healthy way, where matters of racism and discrimination are no longer part of the dynamics of any society," the NHRI Chairperson said, adding that investing in the future "will allow us to grow, to enhance, to develop, and most importantly to flourish as one people of the UAE, both citizens and residents".

The NHRI focuses on all aspects of human rights in the UAE, including the rights of women, children, those of people with special needs, labourers and workers, among others.

"Our aim is to make sure that all those who are in the UAE can actually enjoy their presence in this country, be aware that their rights have been preserved, and that they are able to communicate their concerns," Kruse said.

"We aspire to meet the expectations of the UAE's citizens and residents."

Kruse, who is from a multi-cultural family with his father being German and his mother Emirati, emphasised that the establishment of the NHRI is very personal to him.

With his mother belonging to the first generation of policewomen in the history of the UAE, "it makes it so important to me because I realise how the potential of this country can actually make the difference," he said.

"But it also makes me understand the type of challenges and concerns that all people in the UAE may have, but most importantly what are the opportunities that we can provide and how we can continue to enhance human rights in the country," he added.

Kruse, who earned his Master's degree in Organisational Psychology from the University of Melbourne in Australia and his Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), explained that being a psychologist helped him understand the value of human behaviour and human cognition.

"What it means to be human at the core level, how your feelings or emotions actually matter, how we can make sure that your sense of wellbeing and your sense of existence and presence remain at the core of all the policies that the UAE is developing and endorsing," he said.

Working together as members of this society, in light of the UAE's vision for the next fifty years, will help us enhance the concept of human rights, not just in theory, but in practice, he continued.

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