Dubai Expo 2020 attempt to shield UAE rights abuses, says HRW
Al Jazeera
Rights group says event attempt to ‘whitewash its image’ and obscure crackdowns on dissent, freedom of expression.
A prominent human rights group has condemned the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Dubai Expo 2020 as an attempt to gloss over rights abuses committed by the Gulf country.
The expo, which has been billed as the Middle East’s first ever world fair and opens on Friday, is part of a decades-long campaign by the UAE to “whitewash its image and obscure its abuses”, Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said in a statement.
He called on countries participating in the months-long event, which has been in development for eight years, to not be complicit. The scathing message came days after the European Parliament called on member states to boycott the expo, citing rights concerns.
