Child Soldiers Global Report 2004 - United Arab Emirates
| Publisher | Child Soldiers International |
| Publication Date | 2004 |
| Cite as | Child Soldiers International, Child Soldiers Global Report 2004 - United Arab Emirates, 2004, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4988061fc.html [accessed 20 October 2022] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
United Arab Emirates
Covers the period from April 2001 to March 2004.
Population: 2.9 million (0.9 million under 18)
Government armed forces: 50,500 (estimate)
Compulsory recruitment age: no conscription
Voluntary recruitment age: 18 for officers and women, unknown for others
Voting age: not applicable
Optional Protocol: not signed
Other treaties ratified (see glossary): CRC, GC AP I and II, ILO 138, ILO 182
There were no reports of under-18s serving in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) armed forces. However, there was limited information available on the minimum age for voluntary recruitment and the rules of secondment for expatriates. Children between 15 and 18 years old received military training at school.
Context
The UAE was not involved in military conflict. Its armed forces took part in peacekeeping operations around the world.
Government
National recruitment legislation and practice
The constitution states that "defence of the union is a sacred duty for every citizen" (Article 43).1 There is no conscription. Expatriates, many of them from other countries in the region or from Pakistan, comprised some 30 percent of the armed forces.2 The officer corps was composed almost exclusively of UAE nationals.3 No information about voluntary recruitment was provided in the UAE's report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in October 2001.
In April 2003 the Federal National Council, the UAE's legislative body, approved a draft law on the recruitment of UAE nationals as armed forces officers. The law set the minimum age for recruitment at 18 and required officer recruits to be graduates of UAE or other recognized military educational institutions.4 The minimum age for recruitment to other ranks remained unclear. Expatriate officers, governed by rules of secondment or contracts, were not subject to this law.5
The government encouraged women to join the UAE military.6 Recruitment was open to women between the ages of 18 and 28 if they had completed middle school. Following enrolment, they undertook a basic training course lasting six months.7
Military training and military schools
Military education is part of the secondary school curriculum for students aged from 15 to 18. It aims at "inculcating values of patriotism, self-denial and readiness to defend one's country in students and thus motivate them to take up military careers".8
1 Interim Constitution (Arabic, Coalition translation), http://www.uae.gov.ae/moca/dostur/updates/updates.html.
2 Anthony Cordesman, The Military Balance in the Middle East: Assessing the Balance, Total Forces, Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, 19 February 2004.
3 Background Note: United Arab Emirates, US State Department, November 2003, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5444.htm
4 Nissar Hoath, "FNC approves draft defence law on recruitment of officers", Gulf News Online, 9 April 2003.
5 Nada Mussallam, "FNC discusses draft law on armed forces recruitment", Khaleej Times, 26 March 2003.
6 United Arab Emirates – Women in Public Life, UNDP Programme on Governance in the Arab Region, http://www.undp-pogar.org/countries/uae/gender.html.
7 Adrienne A.R. Brooks, "Women in the Emirati Military: Spearhead of Change", Military Review, Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, March-April 2002, http://www-cgsc.army.mil.
8 "Accession Day Feature: UAE Armed Forces", posted 2 August 2003, Ministry of Information and Culture, http://uaeinteract.com; International Association of Universities, UAE Education System, http://www.unesco.org/iau/cd-data/ae.rtf.
