Human rights groups in Geneva have uncovered the United Arab Emirates’ role in orchestrating coordinated incitement campaigns against its rivals. They are reportedly utilizing African organizations, offering financial incentives to discredit the UAE’s opponents and to obscure its troubling human rights record.
A source from the United Nations disclosed that the UAE is orchestrating campaigns to incite unrest against Qatar and various other governments by utilizing a network of pressure groups and civil society organizations funded by the UAE. The source indicates that Abu Dhabi’s initiative seeks to recruit so-called “victims,” like migrant workers, to testify before the UN Human Rights Council, aiming to tarnish Qatar’s global standing.
The UAE’s Covert Influence in Geneva
Credible reports suggest that the UAE has consistently financed this campaign for the past three years. Multiple human rights organizations and active institutions in Geneva are said to have received significant amounts of money to back anti-Qatar efforts.
These monies are said to be channeled through the UAE Embassy in Geneva, and one of the primary intermediaries, Issa Al-Arabi, a Bahraini citizen, serves as a facilitator for the UAE in assisting various rights groups within the United Nations.
The campaign, as per the source, is being conducted by Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme (African Meeting for the Defense of Human Rights) headed by Nishkarsh Singh, the Tomoko Development and Cultural Union (TACUDU) headed by Fazal-ur-Rehman, and the International Network for Human Rights (INHR). Another UN source described how the UAE campaign is being coordinated by prominent figures among the human rights and diplomatic community in Geneva and Washington, with much of it operating within the INHR network.
The group is a prime mover in planning human rights activities at the UN, with a team of collaborating legal and diplomatic professionals.
UAE’s Campaign of Influence Against Saudi Arabia and Qatar
Diplomatic sources suggest the UAE is engaging African civil society groups to undertake media and human rights attacks against Qatar. Diplomatic efforts will likely ramp up during UN Human Rights Council meetings in June and September 2025, and a key campaign is in place for the September session.
Additionally, the UAE is reportedly preparing similar activities within the African Union Commission, targeting both Qatar and Saudi Arabia as part of its escalating geopolitical rivalry in Africa.
These events highlight escalating regional tensions in Africa, as the UAE is using human rights instruments and diplomatic power to pursue its political agenda. They also suggest very serious questions about the autonomy of certain Geneva-based human rights organizations, which are increasingly being employed as vehicles for political influence instead of neutral advocacy.