Political Risk:
Critical
Score:
10/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
0/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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The UAE advisory council, known as The Federal National Council (FNC) has no formal powers over defence laws or policy. According to the UAE…
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The FNC does not have direct power over defence and security, because this power lies with the Supreme Council of National Security. However, at…
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This indicator is marked Not Applicable. As no policies or sections in the constitution gives the FNC the power to oversee defence or security…
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Q2
0/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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The FNC includes a Committee for Internal Affairs and Defence; the committee is specialised in discussing draft laws and general issues related to security…
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This indicator is marked Not Applicable because there is no defence committee with formal powers over approving or ammending legislation. As previously explained, FNC…
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This indicator is marked Not Applicable because there is no defence committee with formal powers over approving or ammending legislation. The Committee for Internal…
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The Committee for Internal Affairs and Defence, which is composed of FNC members, does not review major defence policies and decisions every 5 years…
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This indicator is marked Not Applicable because there is no defence committee with formal powers over approving or ammending legislation. There is no evidence…
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This indicator is marked Not Applicable because there is no defence committee with formal powers over approving or ammending legislation. The Committee for Internal…
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Q3
0/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
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There is no evidence of any public debate over the country’s national defence policy or a national security strategy debate in the UAE (1).…
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This sub-indicator has been marked as Not Applicable, as there is no evidence of the national defence policy or the national security strategy being…
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This sub-indicator has been marked as Not Applicable, as there is no evidence of the national defence policy or the national security strategy being…
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In the UAE, documents on the defence policy or security strategy are not released to the public at all. Official government websites, particularly the…
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Q4
0/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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There are no political or social organisations that have a political or socio-political mandate. Such organisations are not allowed to operate in the UAE…
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CSOs activities are limited in the UAE, and CSOs are expected to mainly focus on social, cultural, artistic, or entertainment activities. Engagement in issues…
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As previously explained, there is no evidence available concerning CSO’s involvement in the defence sector at all. CSOs work is restricted through laws that…
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Q5
25/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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The UAE is a signatory to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, and the Arab Anti-Corruption…
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This indicator is marked Not Applicable because the UAE has not ratified the OECD Convention, which is the relevant instrument in this case, considering…
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Q6
0/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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There is a complete absence of any public debate on defence issues in the UAE. There is a very limited debate on socio-political issues,…
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There is no evidence of government engagement in public discourse about defence issues. According to our sources, engagement in public discourse when it come…
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Q7
50/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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In accordance with Article 2 of the Federal Law, the SAI is considered a federal committee within the FNC, responsible for detecting fraud and…
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This sub-indicator has been marked as Not Applicable, as there is not an anti-corruption policy that applies to the defence sector. The penal code…
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Q8
0/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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On several occasions, the UAE government announced plans to establish an anti-corruption unit, within the Ministry of Defence (1), (2). In 2015, the Abu…
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This sub-indicator has been marked as Not Applicable, as there is no evidence of the existence of an anti-corruption unit in place, assessing the…
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This sub-indicator has been marked as Not Applicable, as there is no evidence of the existence of an anti-corruption unit in place, assessing the…
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Q9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. There is no evidence available to assess public trust and perceptions of the defence…
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Q10
0/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
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There is no evidence available that shows that any risk assessments for the defence sector have been commissioned in the last 2-3 years. The…
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This sub-indicator has been marked as NA, as no assessments of corruption risks have been commissioned in the past few years, and for this…
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This sub-indicator has been marked as NA, as no assessments of corruption risks have been commissioned in the past few years, and for this…
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Defence Budgets
Q11
0/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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The defence sector in the UAE does not have a defined process for acquisition planning. The Office of the Crown Prince is responsible for…
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This sub-indicator is marked NA because the UAE does not have a defined process for acquisition planning. There is no transparency concerning the acquisition…
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This sub-indicator is marked NA because the UAE does not have a defined process for acquisition planning. The defence sector is not subject to…
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Q12
13/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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In November 2017, the UAE published the budget for 2018 through national media. The defence budget has been estimated at 6.2 billion dirhams, however,…
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As previously explained, the FNC is a consultative body in the country and has no power over approving the defence budget, as the defence…
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Q13
0/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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There is no legislative body such as a parliament responsible for issuing, discussing and drafting laws, or reviewing any budget. It is a consultative…
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This sub-indicator has been marked as Not Applicable. Despite the existence of a defence committee within the FNC (the consultative body), the committee lacks…
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Q14
0/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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There is no information available for any organization or journalists on the defence budget. According to our sources, questioning or writing about the defence…
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There is no defence budget publicly available, this sub-indicator is marked NA.
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There is no possible way to obtain information about the defence sector budget in the UAE. The official government portal of the UAE and…
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Q15
0/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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There is no publication of non-central government sources of funding and income. According to our sources, the only income and source of funding comes…
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As there are no non-central government sources of funds, there is not any kind of institutional scrutiny over defence income generated through non-central government…
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As there are no non-central government sources of funds, there is not any kind of institutional scrutiny over defence income generated through non-central government…
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Q16
8/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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There is an internal auditing unit within the defence sector. However, it conducts irregular, bureaucratic and superficial auditing and reviews of the expenditure. This…
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The UAE armed forces do not allow any oversight or internal audits of defence ministry expenditures. The majority of employees in this department are…
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There are no internal reports produced by an internal body, and there is no external body that has oversight power over the armed forces…
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This indicator is marked Not Applicable because there has not been any internal report with recommendations on the risks of corruption. Therefore, one can…
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Q17
0/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
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The SAI is mandated to audit all ministries including the defence and security sectors. Although the SAI is an “independent authority reporting to the…
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This sub-indicator is marked Not Applicable as there is no evidence to support that external audits of the military and the defence sector take…
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This sub-indicator is marked Not Applicable as there is no evidence to support that external audits of the military and the defence sector take…
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This sub-indicator is marked Not Applicable as there is no evidence to support that external audits of the military and the defence sector take…
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
10/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
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Research reveals that there are no restrictions on defence institutions or individuals having controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural…
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There is no legislation or any regulations that prohibit defence institutions from involvement in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation (1). There…
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Individual personnel, rather than institutions, need approval from the commander in chief to set up any kind of business in the country’s natural resources.…
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The interests are not declared publicly. There are no details of sources of income, operations, expenditures, or full disclosure of activities (1), (2).
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The military and defence sector do not publicly declare their financial interest in businesses associated with the country’s natural resources. The FNC (1), the…
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Organised Crime
Q19
88/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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The UAE, according to the Global Competitiveness Report 2017/2018, has ranked the seventh globally for the absence of organised crime in general (1). According…
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The UAE is one of the top 7 countries in the world with the lowest rates for organised crime generally, thus assessing governmental response…
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Q20
0/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
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There are no policing functions to investigate organised crime within the defence sector. As previously explained, the defence sector has its jurisdiction and regulations…
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There are no police functions that oversee the defence services. Due to the absence of police functions, this sub-indicator has been marked as Not…
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There are no police functions that oversee the defence services. Due to the absence of police functions, this sub-indicator has been marked as Not…
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Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
0/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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The UAE’s intelligence services consist of the UAE State Security and the Military Intelligence Security Services, both of which are not subject to any…
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This sub-indicator has been marked as Not Applicable, due to the lack of an oversight body, and thus assessing its effectiveness in this context…
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Q22
17/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
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Information about the intelligence services in the UAE is scarce. However, senior and ministerial positions within these services are appointed through Emiri Decrees. In…
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Senior positions in the intelligence services are primarily appointed by the executive. Senior positions within the defence and intelligence services take place through appointments…
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According to sources, who have access to the armed forces and intelligence services, there is a process of vetting that primarily looks at two…
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Export Controls
Q23
25/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
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The UAE has signed up to the ATT, but has failed to ratify it. The country signed up to the ATT on July 9,…
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This indicator has been scored ‘Not Applicable’, as the UAE has not ratified the Arms Trade Treaty.
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The FNC does not have any power to scrutinise matters related to the defence sector or the military as it is a consultative body…
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Lobbying in Defence
The UAE does not have a legal framework for regulating lobbying activity concerning the defence sector. It has become clear throughout this assessment, that…
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This sub-indicator has been marked as Not Applicable, as the UAE does not have legislation that regulates lobbying in the defence sector (1).
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This sub-indicator has been marked as Not Applicable, as the UAE does not have legislation that regulates lobbying in the defence sector (1).
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This sub-indicator has been marked as Not Applicable, as the UAE does not have legislation that regulates lobbying in the defence sector (1).
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