The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the Welsh Government to reconsider its presence in the middle eastern states of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar due to concerns over the human rights conditions in the two nations. The Welsh Government currently has offices in 12 countries, including in Dubai, the UAE and Doha, Qatar. However, the Welsh Lib Dems believe, that the offices should be reconsidered and the resources of Trade and Invest Wales potentially moved to countries with better records on human rights and democracy as part of an ‘ethical trade policy for Wales’. Both Qatar and the UAE rank extremely poorly on several human rights metrics. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s World Democracy Index, Qatar ranks 126/167 nations while the UAE ranks 145/167 making both countries “authoritarian regimes”. The countries also perform poorly on woman’s rights, with a male guardianship system still in place that means most women still need the permission o...
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