THE MASS EVICTION AND PERSECUTION OF MAASAI PEOPLE SO THAT THE UAE ROYAL FAMILY AND ITS GUESTS CAN HUNT AND KILL WILD ANIMALS VIOLATES INTERNATIONAL LAW AND IGNORES THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION AND

 INDIGENOUS CULTURAL SURVIVAL

  

As recently reported in a Bloomberg Businessweek Feature story (headlined “Maasai Are Getting Pushed Off Their Land So Dubai Royalty Can Shoot Lions”), thousands of Maasai people have been forcibly evicted from their ancestral lands so Dubai royalty and their guests can engage in the sport of trophy hunting. Numerous United Nations reports have described the forced eviction of tens of thousands of Maasai people to accommodate the royal family’s hunting activities arranged by the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Otterlo Business Corp. (OBC). 

 

It has been widely reported that Lieutenant-General Mohammed Abdul Rahim Al Ali, Assistant Under Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, procured hunting rights to our the land for the exclusive use of the UAE royal family.  We understand that for about 25 years, the OBC company had an exclusive hunting license, during which time there were several violent evictions of the Maasai, many of our homes were burnt, and thousands of our livestock killed. Although we believe the Tanzania's Ministry of Natural Resources may have canceled OBC’s license in 2017, the UAE Royal family remain active in the area, while the local villagers live in fear, and are subjected to eviction at the hands of armed Tanzania forces.

 

The United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the General Assembly on Thursday, 13 September 2007. This historic adoption followed more than 20 years of deliberation and debate in which Indigenous Peoples worked directly with states to elaborate upon and advance their human rights. Article 10 states that “Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories. No relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned and after agreement on just and fair compensation and, where possible, with the option of return.” 

 

As the first country in the region to ratify the Paris Agreement, the UAE has at least committed to taking positive steps in this critical decade for climate action. These steps should include raising awareness on and monitoring progress of indigenous peoples’ situations and the protection, respect, and fulfillment of indigenous peoples’ rights.
 

As the United Arab Emirates makes plans to host the COP28 international climate conference, we are urging its rulers, President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, and Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and the COP28 President-Designate, to demonstrate the UAE’s commitment to enforcement of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and to build bridges and foster consensus to accelerate inclusive climate progress, by announcing the complete termination of the Royal family’s use of traditional Maasai lands in Tanzania for trophy hunting. 

 

It appears to us that there is a profound and fundamental inconsistency in hosting a global conference on major environmental issues (COP28 December 2023 in Dubai) while contributing to the displacement of thousands of indigenous Maasai people so that the UAE’s Royal family and its guests may occasionally engage in luxury trophy hunting. We are urging that any formal or informal agreements between the government of Tanzania and any UAE entity regarding the use of traditional Maasai lands for the royal family’s trophy hunting, and all such hunting activities, be terminated before the COP28 proceedings commence on November 30, 2023.