Anti-Hate and Anti-Discrimination Laws
Main provisions from UAE Anti-hate Law
1. Criminalises any acts that stoke religious hatred
2. Criminalises any act that insults religion through any form of expression, be it speech or the written word, books, pamphlets or online
3. Punishes anyone for terming other religious groups or individuals as infidels, or unbelievers
4. Provides a sound foundation for the environment of tolerance, broad-mindedness and acceptance in the UAE
5. Aims to safeguard people regardless of their origin, beliefs or race, against acts that promote religious hate and intolerance
6. Includes jail terms of six months to more than 10 years for those who break the law
7. Includes fines of between Dh50,000 and Dh2 million for those who break the law
8. Prohibits any act that would be considered as insulting God, His prophets or apostles or holy books or houses of worship or graveyards
9. Makes it illegal to discriminate against individuals or groups on the basis of religion, caste, doctrine, race, colour or ethnic origin
10. Prohibits any entity or group established specifically to provoke religious hatred
11. Recommends stringent punishments for groups or supporters of any organisations or individuals that are associated with hate crimes
12. Prohibits any kind of events such as conferences and meetings within the UAE
organised with the sole purpose of sowing seeds of discrimination, discord or hatred against individuals or groups on the basis of faith, origin or race
13. Makes it illegal to receive financial support to fund activities that propagate hate
14. Encourages anyone involved in any activity that violates the law to voluntarily submit themselves before the authorities
15. Allows courts to waive penalties where people voluntarily submit themselves to authorities
16. Dovetails with other existing laws to protect specially privileged groups such as women, children and individuals with disabilities or others
Anti-Discriminatory Law
The Anti-Discriminatory Law criminalises any acts that stoke religious hatred and/or which insult religion through any form of expression, be it speech or the written word, books, pamphlets or via online media. The law also includes provisions for punishing anyone for terming other religious groups or individuals as infidels, or unbelievers.
Penalties for violation of the various provisions of the law include jail-terms of six months to over 10 years and fines from Dh50,000 to Dh2 million.
The Anti-Discriminatory Law prohibits any act that would be considered as insulting God, his prophets or apostles or holy books or houses of worship or graveyards. It also has provisions to fight discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of religion, caste, doctrine, race, colour or ethnic origin.
The law also criminalises any act that amounts to abuse of religion or vandalism of religious rituals, holy sites or symbols, and takes a serious view of violence on the basis of religious doctrines.
The law prohibits any entity or group established specifically to provoke religious hatred and recommends stringent punishments for groups or supporters of any organisations or individuals that are associated with hate crimes. It also bars any kind of events such as conferences and meetings within the UAE organised with the sole purpose of sowing seeds of discrimination, discord or hatred against individuals or groups on the basis of faith, origin or race. Receiving financial support for such activities is also punishable under the new law.