Democracy for the Arab World Now - DAWN

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Saudi journalist and democracy advocate Jamal Khashoggi founded DAWN in 2018.

Saudi Arabia

America's Misplaced Enchantment With Arab Monarchs

May 14, 2021

The security crackdown in Jordan last month that ensnared Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, the former crown prince, and which briefly...

Biden Administration Should Not Invoke National Security to Enable Egyptian Abuses

by DAWN

April 24, 2021

An open letter to Secretary Blinken urges the Biden administration to refrain from using the national security waiver on the...

Should the Egyptian Opposition Worry About the Latest Ankara-Cairo Communications?

April 21, 2021

Egypt: Khaled Dawoud, Prominent Journalist and Politician, Released

April 13, 2021

UAE

Sharjar, UAE, May 2006: A portrait of a migrant labourer in an area close to Dubai where he is installing a well for ongoing construction. He is one of over a million construction workers working in Dubai. These sites are filled with construction labourers in Dubai live in labour camps.The camps are often over 2 hours away and the workers have just finished a 12 hour shift. The majority of labourers come to Dubai from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. These workers operate in extreme temperatures in the desert climate, the majority earning under $200 a month. Many have to spend a third of that sum on food provided at the camps as part of their contract. Most sign recruitment contracts in their own countries which take them into debt for many years. Their passports are held by their employers once they reach the UAE and if the company owners abscond the workers are often abandoned without their documents or due payment. Over two thirds of the Dubai population is migrant labour with 1.1 million working in construction. Dubai is currently second only to Shanghai in terms of the scale of construction underway on a 24 hour basis. All this is woefully underscrutinised by the Ministry of Labour, there are currently only 80 government inspectors for over 200 000 construction companies. Recently there have been rumblings of discontent from the workers, with strikes at numerous sites over the non-payment of wages and harsh working conditions. In 2005, according to Human Rights Watch, there were 84 suicides by construction workers in Dubai. Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images.

Democracy In Exile

The UAE: Perpetuating an Unsustainable Pecking Order

by Lorcan Owens

March 9, 2021

The UAE is already well on its way to transitioning towards a post-oil economy. Dubai boasts a dynamic, diverse economy,...

The UAE: Perpetuating an Unsustainable Pecking Order

March 9, 2021

The UAE's Tactical Withdrawal from a Strategic Engagement in Yemen

March 3, 2021

Democracy In Exile

America's Misplaced Enchantment With Arab Monarchs

by Sean Yom

May 14, 2021

The security crackdown in Jordan last month that ensnared Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, the former crown prince, and which briefly...

Democracy In Exile

It's Long Past Time for Palestinians to Vote

by Ibrahim Fraihat

May 12, 2021

In an unfortunately all too expected move, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced in late April the postponement of long-awaited elections...

Democracy In Exile

From Diatribes to Dialogue: Why Iran and Saudi Arabia Are Talking

by Joost Hiltermann

May 7, 2021

When reports surfaced in April that senior security officials from Saudi Arabia and Iran had met in Baghdad to discuss...

HANGZHOU, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 04: Saudi Arabia Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends the G20 opening ceremony at the Hangzhou International Expo Center on September 4, 2016 in Hangzhou, China. World leaders are gathering for the 11th G20 Summit from September 4-5. (Photo by Nicolas Asfouri - Pool/Getty Images)

Democracy In Exile

Beaten by MBS and Disappeared: The Case of Sulaiman al-Dowaish

by Ramzi Kaiss

May 5, 2021

Saudi Arabia is no stranger to political repression, but in the years following Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's rise to...

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 24: Supporters of Armenian stand off with Turkish supporters outside the Turkish Embassy on April 24, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Joe Biden became the first US president to formally refer to atrocities committed against Armenians as a

Democracy In Exile

What Biden's Recognition of the Armenian Genocide Means for the U.S. and Turkey

by Henri J. Barkey

April 30, 2021

President Joe Biden's landmark recognition last weekend of the Armenian genocide was received with predictable denunciations and denials in Turkey....

Democracy In Exile

Art as Response, Not Escape: A Conversation With Palestinian Artist Mohammed al-Hawajri in Gaza

by Omid Memarian

April 26, 2021

Discussing his life as an artist, al-Hawajri sees an opportunity to fill the void of art and culture in Gaza...

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Amal al-Moallimi

December 2, 2020

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DAWN's Foreign Policy Explained

December 1, 2020

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Sarah Leah Whitson joins Mehdi Hasan to explain why she believes the designation of Houthi rebels as a terrorist group will deepen the humanitarian disaster in Yemen.

October 7, 2020

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Amal al-Moallimi

December 2, 2020

DAWN's Foreign Policy Explained

December 1, 2020

Sarah Leah Whitson joins Mehdi Hasan to explain why she believes the designation of Houthi rebels as a terrorist group will deepen the humanitarian disaster in Yemen.

Oct 7, 2020

IN THE NEWS

"It appears the Sisi government will not be satisfied until it arrests each of the tens of millions of Egyptians who voted for the Freedom and Justice Party."

"The new administration could take a small but significant step by instituting a bar on entry into the US of Saudi leaders, a visa ban for those most responsible for the travel ban, starting with staff members at the Saudi Royal Court and the Interior Ministry."

"The Israeli system is highly centralized. There is universal health coverage for citizens and residents. The distribution system is very efficient. It's a small country. There are lots of reasons why the Israeli government is in a very good position to vaccinate a lot of people quickly."

"The Saudi government's sentencing Fitaihi, like sending al-Hathloul and other activists back to terrorism court for prosecution, is a naked effort to gather chits the government can offer up as concessions to any demands for 'reform' from the Biden administration."

"Among small adjustments, Biden is expected to return to a more moderate, but fundamentally unchanged approach of prior administrations, which centres on close ties to Israel and arms sales that fuel the region's arms race."

"If the perpetrators of the murder wanted to intimidate and threaten those who speak, disagree, or demand liberties and basic human rights in Saudi Arabia, they only made Jamal a martyr for the struggle for a better Saudi Arabia and a better Arab world."

"The only solution that will bring lasting peace and ability, security, prosperity, but also dignity, to the people of the region was democracy and human rights."

"Drawing on public and confidential sources in-country, DAWN, the organization founded by Jamal Khashoggi two years ago, is identifying these functionaries and documenting their malign activities in a Culprits Gallery of human rights offenders."

"In the Fakhoury case, the U.S. administration, backed by some members of Congress, used its power to strike a blow against judicial accountability in the Middle East, undermining the rule of law in Lebanon and reinforcing the cynical view of many in the region that real justice is either elusive or only comes from the barrel of a gun."

"...the kingdom classified the Khashoggi case as retribution to allow it to avoid execution. They knew that using the word retribution left the door open for a pardon."

Democracy In Exile

America's Misplaced Enchantment With Arab Monarchs

by Sean Yom

May 14, 2021

Dawn's Advocacy

Biden Administration Should Not Invoke National Security to Enable Egyptian Abuses

by DAWN

April 24, 2021

Democracy In Exile

The UAE: Perpetuating an Unsustainable Pecking Order

by Lorcan Owens

March 9, 2021

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About Us

Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) is a nonprofit organization that promotes democracy, the rule of law, and human rights for all of the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Saudi journalist and democracy advocate Jamal Khashoggi founded DAWN in 2018.

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Videos

DAWN - Democracy For The Arab World Now

Amal al-Moallimi

December 2, 2020

DAWN's Foreign Policy Explained

December 1, 2020

Sarah Leah Whitson joins Mehdi Hasan to explain why she believes the designation of Houthi rebels as a terrorist group will deepen the humanitarian disaster in Yemen.

October 7, 2020

Videos

DAWN - Democracy For The Arab World Now

Amal al-Moallimi

DAWN's Foreign Policy Explained

Sarah Leah Whitson joins Mehdi Hasan to explain why she believes the designation of Houthi rebels as a terrorist group will deepen the humanitarian disaster in Yemen.

IN THE NEWS

SUPPORT OUR MISSION

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