Dr Ebtesam Al Ketbi is the president of the Emirates Policy Centre
May 28, 2024
The UAE is increasingly concerned about growing cracks and weaknesses in the international order, which the country witnessed in part during its time as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council from 2022 to 2023. That experience provided a detailed, in-depth and realistic perspective of the international landscape, its complications and the engagement of great powers within this order.
The UAE has called for reforms to the Security Council and its voting mechanisms after noticing that the veto power of permanent members is often used in an unacceptable manner. This veto frequently prolongs crises, perpetuates conflicts and obstructs justice, driven by narrow political pretexts and interests that are often at odds with the desires and positions of most other countries.
During the UAE’s tenure at the Security Council, the veto was used 10 times – the highest number within such a period since 1989. This frequent use of the veto highlights international divisions over issues such as the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, deliberations at the International Court of Justice regarding claims of genocide and the recognition of the Palestinian state by several countries along with the controversy surrounding it.
Increased co-operation between the US, Europe and China would benefit all
These divisions underscore that the international consensus on the values and principles on which the UN and other international organisations were founded is currently lacking. Rather, the global landscape is marked by double standards, politicisation, polarisation and squabbling.
All these issues highlight the need to preserve the Council’s legitimacy by enhancing its effectiveness. Achieving this requires reform and adjustments to redefine the “international community” as a true representative of the positions of most countries, rather than being the voice of particular great powers only.
The rules-based order that the international community envisioned decades ago was meant to be a voice of justice and equality and the guardian of security, peace, prosperity and co-existence. But with the onset of the 21st century, the ability of this framework to perform efficiently has been eroded significantly. Meanwhile, crises around the world are increasing while solutions are diminishing.
There is a global consensus that this institutional framework, represented by UN bodies and other international organisations, is one of the best tools created to prevent wars, spread peace and demonstrate international solidarity in the face of threats and risks. It is designed to fulfil aspirations, protect human rights, aid the weak and oppressed and deter aggressors and oppressors. There is an urgent need to reform the world order and restore confidence in its mechanisms and tools. There is no other option because the alternative is the law of the jungle, where the strong annihilates the weak.
The UAE’s perspective on reforming the world order, notably the Security Council, is informed by its participation in recent intergovernmental negotiations on this issue in the UN General Assembly.
A number of suggestions have been put on the table, such as intensifying efforts to regulate the use of the veto. Deep divisions within the Security Council, often due to conflicting geopolitical interests, undermine efforts by the international community to reach a political consensus.
Even without the use of the veto, decisions often lack unanimity, limiting their impact. Hence, there is a need to establish clear and specific criteria for its use, in accordance with international law, the will of the vast majority of member states and the impartial opinion of the UN Secretariat.
The UAE has affirmed its support for calls to limit its use in cases involving mass atrocity crimes, a stance supported by more than a hundred member states. Last month, the UAE emphasised that the veto should not impede efforts to prevent atrocities against unarmed civilians.
It has also advocated for greater geographical representation when expanding the membership in the Security Council to include Arab countries, as well as greater fairness in the representation of Africa and the Asia-Pacific region in both permanent and non-permanent categories.
Other discussion points included the need for smoother and more focused texts for Security Council resolutions, as well as continued information sharing and transparency between the Security Council and General Assembly.
The UAE, like other GCC countries, has benefited from globalisation, the market economy, free trade and the free movement of investments. But it remains concerned about the cracks in the world order.
Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed, has criticised any restrictions that hinder the efficient functioning of this system, describing the current world order as “outdated”. He said: “We are already living through the pain of an international system ... If you look at the veto that was applied to the Gaza issue, and the veto that was applied to the Ukrainian crisis, you will find that there is a problem with consensus.”
Dr Gargash added that he does not foresee “another San Francisco meeting”, referring to the 1945 talks that led to the creation of the UN. “We have to understand that, in fact, the system is eroding and the ability to deliver something new is really diminishing,” he added. “So we have to think seriously about how to deal with that.”
Like other small and medium-sized countries, the UAE feels caught in the middle of this increasingly eroding international reality, “between what represents the current order or the old order that was created after World War II, and [the challenges of] the diminishing ability of that order to regulate security, to regulate the economy”, as Dr Gargash put it.
On this basis, the UAE views with concern the divisions in Europe regarding questions of self-image and identity, the rise of the far right and populism, and the decline of consensus around the continental project. It also worries about the potential for increased confrontations between the US and China, particularly in the context of domestic debates in Washington about its role in the world and, more specifically, its place in the Middle East.
In sum, the UAE calls for a roadmap to reform the fracturing world order. It also believes that the need for a more reliable Arab regional order is especially urgent in light of these changes.
From this standpoint, increased co-operation between the US, Europe and China would benefit all. The greater the level of co-operation in the international system, the better it is for the world.
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023 More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Brief scoreline:
Al Wahda 2
Al Menhali 27', Tagliabue 79'
Al Nassr 3
Hamdallah 41', Giuliano 45 1', 62'
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC October 9: v Sabah FA
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany - At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people - Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed - Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest - He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
Flexible work arrangements
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
