12/04/23 12/04/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from the u.n. climate summit in dubai in the united arab emirates, this is democracy now! >> we were asleep and safe. they told us it was a safe place. but at 20 past 10:00, they struck it with barrels,

destroying all of the block. there were children, women, and martyrs. there is no safe area. amy: israel is expanding its air and ground assault on gaza, killing more than 800 palestinians since saturday. bringing the death toll to more than 15,500 people. we will go to khan younis for the latest. then climate activists here at cop28 in dubai stage a protest calling for an immediate ceasefire in gaza. >> we have witnessed not just the palestinian people's dart, cut off from the world, bombed, and killed with no hope of rescue as every morning we wait desperately for that message that our friends and colleagues are still alive, but while watching the international community stand in silence.

amy: we will speak to asad rehman. then for the first time in nine years, a representative from human rights watch has been allowed access to the united arab emirates. >> is a deeply repressive state. hrw has been deeply concerned for many months over the ability of cop28 participants to freely and safely express their opinions and participate in protests. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report.

we are broadcasting from dubai, from the u.n. climate summit. i'm amy goodman. gaza's health ministry says israeli strikes have killed more than 800 people since saturday after israel targeted the besieged palestinian territory with some of its most violent assaults yet, including parts of southern gaza previously designated by israel's military as safe zones. dozens were killed as israel flattened homes in the jabalia refugee camp where displaced families were sheltering, while in gaza city's shujaiya neighborhood, israeli strikes destroyed 50 residential buildings and homes, killing more than 300 people. ambulance drivers have been targeted by israeli snipers, including a medic who was shot transporting an injured person towards al-awda hospital. unicef spokesperson james elder delivered this message from inside gaza's nasser hospital. >> we cannot see more children

with the wounds of war. with the burns come the shrapnel littering their body. in action by those with influence is allowing the killing of children. this is a war on children. clearly words do not make a difference on those who have the power to stop the killing, then maiming of children. amy: we will speak with a palestinian reporter outside nasser hospital in khan younis following headlines. following the collapse of the temporary truce friday, israel again restricted the number of aid trucks permitted into gaza. gazans continue to plea for food, water, an end to the attacks. >> the days of the truce, we slept and rested. there were no drones and we were

living well. fear has returned. the sadness has returned. there explosion -- with every explosion, is in front of us? we are dying of starvation. amy: over the weekend, hamas said it would not release any more israeli hostages until a ceasefire comes into effect and israel releases all palestinian prisoners. meanwhile, top u.s. officials have publicly warned israel's military about the thousands of palestinian civilians it has killed. this is defense secretary lloyd austin. >> this kind of a fight, the center of gravity is the civilian population. if you drive them into the arms of the enemy, you replace the technical with the strategic defeat. amy: his warning came as "the wall street journal" reported the u.s. has supplied israel

with 15,000 bombs and 57,000 artillery shells since october 7. here in the united states, a protester in critical condition after setting themself on fire friday outside the israeli consulate in atlanta, georgia. authorities said the protester never posed a threat to consular staff and the self-immolation was believed to be "an act of extreme political protest." in denver, colorado, hundreds of jewish activists and their allies blocked traffic on the busy speer boulevard sunday following a week of protests outside the colorado convention center where the jewish national fund was holding its global conference for israel. 15 members of jewish voice for peace were arrested after chaining themselves together on the road and halting traffic for an hour. the united auto workers became the latest and largest union to call for a permanent ceasefire in gaza.

the uaw joins the american postal workers union, the california nurses association, and the chicago teachers union. the uaw is also creating a divestment and just transition working group and taking a closer look at the union's economic ties to the conflict. the united nations cop28 climate summit opened here in dubai thursday with delegates agreeing to adopt a new loss and damage fund to help poorer nations deal with the disproportionate impact of the climate crisis. initial funding will start at $429 million, just a fraction what's needed to address the annual cost of climate catastrophes. governments from the global south and climate activists welcomed the fund but underlined its deficiencies. this is libyan activist nissa bek. >> considering the fact most of the developing countries that

need the find are politically unstable, already the prerequisite for receiving the fund is not there. the loss and damage fund will only be a band-aid if also fuel is continue to be produced. loss and damage from climate change, $1.5 trillion last year alone. amy: barbados' prime minister mia mottley called for major reforms to global financial institutions and for firm and binding commitments from governments. >> we live now in the age of superlatives. one third of the days of the year exceed 1.5 degrees. in glasgow, i said this was a death sentence. it is a death sentence for many. the reality is unless we change course and adopt the policies that can help mitigate

increasing temperatures, we will see far more lives lost and damage done. i will ask the world simply, let us agree to leave here with the global meeting agreement. amy: a number of world leaders used their time on the global stage to speak out against israel's assault on gaza, including south african president cyril ramphosa and gustavo petro, and jordanian king abdullah. later in the broadcast, we'll hear voices from a protest for gaza here at the u.n. climate summit. cop28 president sultan al jaber is facing a new wave of criticism after claiming there is no science backing the phase-out of fossil fuels. al jaber, who is also the head of the abu dhabi national oil company adnoc, made the comments during a virtual panel on women and climate change in response to mary robinson, former u.n. special envoy for climate change and former president of ireland. >> there is no science there

were no scenario out there that says the phaseout of fossil fuel is going to achieve 1.5. 1.5 is my northstar. amy: during the combative exchange with former president mary robinson, al jaber repeatedly lashed out defensively and chastised the former irish president. >> the science is very acute know. we don't have any time. they say six or seven years. your company is investing in a lot more -- that is going to hurt women. >> ma'am, you just accused me of something that is not correct. i'm sorry, i don't take it. i ask you to prove -- >> investing in a lot more fossil fuel in the future.

>> you are reading your own media which is biased. i am the man in charge and it is wrong. you need to listen to me. amy: in the lead-up to cop28, reports emerged that al jaber was using the event to make oil deals with foreign governments. al jaber rejected the reports. in remarks earlier today, he reiterated what he calls his commitment to science, telling reporters here at cop, well, we very much believe and respect the science. venezuelans have approved a voter of referendum claiming sovereignty over a disputed area on its border with guyana. the region of essequibo is roughly 60,000 square miles of mostly dense jungle and is rich in oil and mineral reserves. venezuela has long held claim to the land, which it says was stolen when borders between the two nations were drawn by international arbitrators over a century ago when guyana was still a british colony. sunday's referendum has heightened fears in guyana that venezuela could try to take over

essequibo through annexation. on friday, the international court of justice warned venezuela against taking any action to assert control over essequibo. in the philippines, the islamic state has claimed responsibility for an explosion during a catholic mass sunday that killed four people and injured dozens of others. the blast went off inside the gymnasium of mindanao state university, in marawi, the philippines' largest muslim city. a survivor recounted her ordeal. >> at first we were singing during the mass and there was a sudden explosion behind us. we thought it was just the speakers but that everyone started running. i stumbled and my friend told me to keep running. when i got out of the gym, i fell and my friend jerry crying because they saw i was wounded in the back. amy: in 2017 the philippines government waged a month-long battle to dislodge isis allied

militants, laying waste to much of the southern city and killing nearly 1200 people. back in the united states, sandra day o'connor, the first woman to serve as a united states supreme court justice, has died at the age of 93. she was appointed by president reagan and sworn in in 1981. she served until 2006. she often acted as the swing vote of the court, including in the 1992's landmark case planned parenthood v. casey, which upheld the constitutional right to an abortion. in 2000, justice o'connor cast the fifth vote in bush v. gore, leading to george w. bush's election victory. two-and-a-half years later, bush led the u.s. into an illegal invasion of iraq. in 2013, the then-retired sandra day o'connor suggested the supreme court should not have taken the bush v. gore case. and the house voted on friday to expel new york republican george santos over multiple ethics

violations, making him just the sixth congressmember to ever be ousted from the house of representatives by fellow lawmakers. the bipartisan vote came as santos is facing a 23-count federal indictment, including fraud related to his campaign finances. he also repeatedly lied about his family, background, and professional experience. santos' parting words as he left the house building, "to hell with this place." a special election is expected to be scheduled in february to fill santos' seat. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show in gaza as israel is expanding its air and ground assault on the besieged territory days after a truce between israel and hamas ended. palestinian health officials say israel has killed at least 800 people since saturday. here at the u.n. climate summit

in dubai, over 100 protesters gathered on the sidelines of the summit for a peaceful action in solidarity with the people of palestine to maine cease-fire in gaza. the rally took place across the united arab emirates pavilion inside dubai's expo city, where the summit is being held. u.s. climate envoy john kerry drove past as the action was starting. hindered by u.n. restrictions blocking protesters from raising palestinian flags, demonstrators held banners with watermelons painted on them, a known symbol of the palestinian movement as the fruit bears palestine's national colors -- red, black, and green. the uae bands protests and organize groups but has allowed some action during the summit. protesters were also prohibited from chanting phrases like "from the river to the sea" and "free palestine" and were not

-- and some still did in defiance. others wore palestinian keffiyehs. dozens of protesters wept as speakers read some of the names of the over 15,000 palestinians killed by israeli strikes in gaza since october 7, including more than 6000 children. democracy now! was there. >> when human rights are under attack, what do we do? >> we will be reading free today the list of names of those who have been killed since october 7. >> is violence is not happening

just in my hometown come it is happening everywhere. being a detroit, water has been cut off, down the street from flint, michigan, was seawater polluted. precedents like that where people are expendable is only because of the violence of the people back in my homeland. because of that we are taking a stand here today not just the palestinian people, but those allied with justice for all people across the world because that is what is necessary to have true climate justice. what good is finding a world that is green if the roots are -- what good is a world that is green if there's nobody left to live in it? the precedents on the people's lives in the calculations we make as to who is expendable, that is a precedent was set for who is expendable anywhere. >> ♪ take me by the hand

in solidarity we stand ♪ ♪ >> because now we have social media, we were able to see some of the facts. have you seen this that went viral? we what the tiktok that goes viral about food, about how you remove white phosphorus. shelled on civilians. shelled on women and children. this is where most of the casualties are. we have almost 50,000 women pregnant trying to deliver, and these women, lots of them lost their lives. also these newborn babies, have you seen them? have you seen them struggling

for air to breathe? unfortunately, electricity was cut off. there is no food or water or sanitation. they have nothing to survive on. lots of these newborn children were killed. amy: you have been listening to a protest that took place yesterday. you have been listening to a protest here at the u.n. climate summit outside the united arab emirates in the u.n. cop. right now we will go back to that protest. but right now we have just made a connection with gaza and we feel it is absolutely critical to go to it. as the ground assault continues on the besieged territory days

after a truce between israel and hamas ended. israel has killed at least 800 people since saturday, bringing the total death toll to over 15,000. the gaza health ministry official says hospitals are being "flooded with an influx of dead bodies." in gaza city, a massive israeli attack leveled about 50 buildings in the neighborhood of shujaiya, reportedly killing more than 300 people. we are going to turn right now just outside the hospital in khan younis called an officer hospital -- nasser hospital. there journalist akram al-satarri is going to talk to us about the situation in khan younis and also talk about his own situation and where his family is living as well. >> gaza, 1.8 million people,

asked to move and leave their homes. they are being bombarded when trying to move. houses are being destroyed. in last 24 hours, more than 1760 people were killed. in the last 12 hours, more than 316 people were killed. the massive movement of the people can be seen for everyone moving throughout the streets of gaza. people grabbing anything they can take. people who move from the north to the central gaza and the khan younis area, there grabbing honest everything because they came almost with nothing from the north and now they are being asked to move to the south because the bombardment is heavier. in the south when they're settling there, the bombardment is resumed and people are killed. in the last three or four hours, several explosions were reported

in different areas of the khan younis area to the very south of the gaza strip. gaza city in the north as well. palestinians who were left with almost nothing, no transportation, no energy, no supplies whatsoever -- even the water is becoming very scarce. people with all of that they're facing are being asked to move. some are walking on foot for such a very long time for the sake of seeking safety. when they reach the promised safety, they end up being bombarded. they lost the shelter they're trying to build. i was on my way to rough it and then back to khan younis. i was sing the people -- i was seeing people who were just taking any kind of wood and branches of trees they can find

from any kind of plastic sheets to start and do something that can serve as a shelter. my whole area was asked to leave. i had to leave my home, my apartment. one apartment i spent my whole time trying to build for me and my family. when we were about to leave, we were wondering what we could take and leave because our ability to take things is very limited. we started prioritizing. medications, number one. blankets, sheets, mattresses -- whatever we can get, even the water we were carrying because water is a scarce commodity in the gaza strip. people in rafah are facing a very dramatic situation. they don't have supplies. they don't have food. they don't have water. they are still struggling for securing any kind of living.

they are losing their children, mothers, spouses for the sake of getting anything that can help them to start fire and warm water and cook something. 1.8 million in gaza now officially internally displaced people's, idp. 1.8 may people are trying to find a place they can hide from the heavy the environment. in the last few days, throughout the whole conflict, no one is safe in gaza. no one is safe in gaza -- amy: it sounds like we have lost akram al-satarri. >> resulting from that large-scale insecurity resulting from that as people of gaza are facing security crisis. they have not been able to access anything. they have been jeopardized by the ongoing escalation. amy: akram al-satarri, reporting

to us from gaza. he is in southern gaza. he is standing just outside the knots are hospital -- nasser hospital in khan younis where he is also in addition to reporting their has moved his family south. khan younis is a place where the israeli military originally told people in northern gaza to move to and now they are bombing khan younis. where so many hundreds of thousands of palestinians have moved to khan younis and further south to rafah. it is extremely difficult to make these conditions -- to make these connections and we thank all of those who have helped us. we're going to turn now to a break. palestinian journalists who have survived the assault so far, though many have lost family members, singing together.

♪ [music break]

amy: "we will stay here until the pain goes away." journalist in gaza seen sitting together in their press identified clothing in a viral video singing "we will stay here until the pain goes away." or than 60 journalists and media workers have been killed since october 7. 54 of them, palestinian journalists in gaza. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are broadcasting from the u.n. climate summit in dubai in

the united arab emirates. as we go back to the report that we just were bringing you before akram brought his report from gaza. these are voices of a protest sunday went over 100 people gathered on the sidelines of the u.n. climate summit for a peaceful action in solidarity with the palestinian people demanding a cease-fire in gaza. the rally taking place just across from the united arab emirates pavilion inside expo city where we are right now, where this summit is being held. these are more voices from that protest. >> i come here from north america representing our indigenous peoples who for many years now you have lived in an

occupied state. we were dispossessed of our land and forced upon reservations where we were confined to one area. the water and resources we had known for thousands of years were taken from us and exploited and stolen from our peoples. i stand here and ask to say these words because i stand in solidarity with each one of my relatives here. everything you're going through -- i'm never going to forget the names being said. one day i will greet them when i joined them in the spirit world. today i want to say this has to stop now. >> i started here is a member of africans rising, working for unity, justice, peace, and dignity. if you are neutral, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. we're here because we have decided we shall not be neutral.

>> today we stand in a space bearing the words the united nations in a process we are deeply committed to as the eyes, ears, and voices of our people fighting for justice. the body that was created after the horrors of the second world war with a promise of never again. a promise that made it illegal to target civilians. a promise that made it illegal to use food, water, medicine as a weapon of war. a promise of human rights. a promise that all people could be able to live with dignity, free from occupation and oppression. for these last few months, we witness not just the palestinian people starved, trapped, cut off from the world, bombed, and

killed, with screams echoing throughout the night with no hope of rescue as every morning we wait desperately for that message that our friends and colleagues are still alive. but while watching the international community stand in silence and again not just for these last two months, but for 15 years of an illegal blockade. for 50 years of an occupation and apartheid and 100 years of ethnic cleansing and settler colonialism. watching the international community that has been actively complicit in war crimes and crimes against humanity. with the genocidal intent isn't even bothered to be hidden anymore. that is not enough. we seen hospitals, schools bombed. we've seen medics, journalists, even u.n. staff killed. 18,000 people. human rights and international

law. some asked, why do we care about the palestinians? why do climate justice groups mobilize in the millions from pakistan to the philippines, from belgium to brazil, from south africa to sweden? why do people from all around the world taking to the streets? because we have seen how the palestinians are not even viewed as human beings. we see our past, our present, and our future of lives that seem less valuable than others. years of colonialism. sacrifice people and land.

profiting from oppression. we say to those countries who put words of human rights [indiscernible] no amounts of empty words will ever erase your complicity. you enabled it. you owned it. here today, we, the people of the world, say to the palestinian people, the international community may have forgotten you but you will never be alone because we are all palestinians!

free palestine! >> we're going to close this moment by respecting the names, the identities, the children, the women, the mothers, the fathers, the journalists that have been murdered. we are going to read some of those names. [reading names]

amy: voices from a protest sunday inside the u.n. climate summit here in dubai, showing solidarity with the palestinian people, calling for a cease-fire in gaza. the first voice in this last segment was from the musky nation here in the united states and the last speech was our guest here now asad rehman. we are broadcasting from the u.n. climate summit in dubai and united arab emirates. delegates agreeing to adopt a new loss and damage fund to help poorer nations deal with the disproportionate impact of the climate crisis. initial funding will start at $429 million, just a fraction what's needed to address the

annual cost of climate catastrophes. governments from the global south and climate activists welcomed the fund but underlined -- underscored its deficiencies. the themes at cop28 today are finance, trade, gender equality, and accountability. sunday, the focus was health. the disease that is generated by the pathogens, the challenges to global health that are generated by climate change. we're joined now by asad rehman, executive director of war on want and lead spokesperson for the climate justice coalition. that held his unusual protest. it is not unusual for the world and there been massive protests in london as her habit in united states against israel's assault on gaza, but here the rules are very strict.

we did not once here israel of a country, named. talk about why. >> first of all, it is a unique protest. we have to say it is unique also in dubai generally. there are no protests aloud and there have been no protests at palestine aloud. the last protest on palestine was in 2008. this is a u.n. body and the u.n. body has certain rules. those include you can't name or shame it country. you can't use somebody's flag. which are rules we usually abide by but this year there has been added pressure. this is largely because we are talking about israel and palestine. powerful countries. the same powerful countries who are blocking actions on climate change have been pressuring they should not a voice raised on

palestine. we have been explicitly told why is palestine being raised in this climate space, it is inappropriate for us to be raising the issue of palestine but this is the most appropriate place because were talking about the rights of people, solidarity of people. and visions not just past and present in the future. amy: this intersectionality we saw last year in sharm el-sheikh with the climate justice advocates standing together with the egyptian rights activists demanding people be released from prison, etc., saying you can't talk about justice and climate separate. >> we have the protest on the day this place talked about human rights. yet many countries writing words in the drafts and preambles about the importance of human rights -- when we were saying that there can be no climate justice without human rights, we were being told that was

unacceptable, inappropriate. it is been a challenge, particularly for many palestinians who are unable to attend and are unwilling to attend for a number of reasons. they have looked for global civil society to use this moment because we are, as we meet here, as your correspondent was talking from gaza, the bombs are dropping. people are dying. the international community is unwilling to act. we know we could stop this bombing by some very powerful country, particularly the u.s., saying no, cease-fire now. amy: the former u.s. presidential candidate, former u.s. senator, the u.s. climate envoy here drove by the protest as it was taking place. that was john kerry. >> indeed, absolutely. last year, the u.s. delegates walked out of one of the plenary

rooms when the russian representatives in the solidarity for ukraine but yet we are told showing solidarity with the palestinian people in the face of an ethnic cleansing, ongoing clearly genocidal intent -- we're seeing now with more and more palestinians push closer to the rafah border, starved of food, water, medicine. inevitable, nowhere to go. what the consequences of that is likely to be is going to be horrendous. this is the moment we have to speak up. amy: inside the summit, issue of israel's assault on gaza was raised by south africa, colombia, and other world leaders. >> and world leaders were allowed to speak and raised it and they were very welcome and we are glad they did. but we as civil society have very many challenging conversations to be even able to say the word "cease-fire."

we were not allowed to be talk about apartheid or say "settler colonialism." those banners had other variations of words on them. this is because our own language was being policed. that is totally inappropriate. it is not for the u.n. to decide. we are using language the united nations itself uses, its own experts use, its own agencies are saying there's a system of apartheid, ethnic cleansing taking place. amy: i want to go to someone who was allowed to speak and that is gustavo petro, the president of colombia. this is what he said when he addressed the u.n. climate summit here in dubai. >> i invite you to think about combination of events. the climate crisis and the genocide of the palestinian people. these events disconnected is my question? or are we seeing a mirror of what is going to happen in the

future? the genocide in the barbaric acts at least against the posting people is what awaits those fling this out because of the climate crisis. most victims of climate change which will be counted in the billions will be those countries do not aim it co2 or emed very little. without the transfer of wealth from north to south, the climate victims will increasingly have less drinking water in their homes and will have to migrate north where the melting glaciers will make it possible for people to drinking water. there will be pushed back against the exodus with violence to barbaric acts committed. this is what is happening in gaza. this is a rehearsal for the future. why have a major carbon consuming nations made it possible the systemic killing of thousands of children in gaza? because if they do not kill

them, they will invade their country to prevent them from consuming their carbon. we can therefore see what the future will look like. there will be a shrinking of democracy and unleashed barbaric acts against our peoples. those of us who do not emit co2, those of us who are poor. amy: that is the colombian president gustavo petro speaking here at the u.n. climate summit in the united arab emirates in dubai. asad rehman, let's talk about this climate summit. if you can talk about issues of loss and damage. remember for the global audience, people -- there's a lot of jargon that keeps people out of understanding what is taking place. >> so we started this climate summit with a warning that we currently are heading to at least 2.9 degree warming. if we think about the impacts happening all over the world, that is happening at just over one degree warming.

2.9 is going to be devastating. some estimate would be towards 4 degrees. particularly if countries like u.s., u.k., come on stream. will rich countries live up to the responsibility to act? instead, they've been pushing the action on to other countries. those damages that are happening, economic and social, just to put into context, remember the floods in pakistan last year. they cost pakistan $35 billion. that was the damage. damaging countries have been saying for a long time to rich countries, you cause this problem, you going to help us do the impacts? rich and developed country say, no. finally, we got a fund. the big question came, who is going to put money into it? developed country said, we're not going to be liable. the united states put a paltry seven teen million dollars into

the fund -- $17 million into the fund. it shows the disparity of what is going on. this has been a long-standing issue. a big thing happening is what they call a global stock take. this is the idea you see how far we have come in progress and then decide how much more do we need to do. rich countries have said, forget what has happened in the past. we might not have acted in the past, forget all that we are responsible, now we just have to look toward the future. developing countries are saying, hold on. the majority of what is happening now is because of your past, because you polluted so much. you have to take responsibility. finance -- interestingly, a lot of what people are looking at is

a new conversation happening which is called the just transition. in the united states, we are seeing the ira, the idea of transition in the economy, and this calls to be happening at a global level. but the u.s., u.k., european union are saying we are going to take responsibility for our transition in the north but we're not going to take responsibility for supporting and in the global south. lots of global south country say without your support, without the technology, without the finance, we're not going to be able -- amy: what you say to sultan al jaber who is the president of the cop, also the president of ad not -- the abu dhabi national oil corporation -- who in a conversation with mary robinson, former president of ireland, said that sustainable development, phaseout of fossil fuels, would not allow sustainable development unless you want to take the world into

caves. he tried to defend his comments today in his press conference zinke believes in science. >> and it is not just him. the fact with head leaders of rich countries coming here and saying we believe in the science but expanding fossil fuels shows what we need is an equitable phaseout of fossil fuels but we also need at the same time a recognition that for developing countries -- many, many poor countries are still dilute with the fact people don't have energy. energy access is needed. the only way we can do with the fossil fuel industry and the question of poverty is to connect both and say we need an equitable phaseout but also a just transition. amy: this is the largest u.n. climate summit ever, held in a country that does not allow protest. the significance of this? >> it is hugely problematic.

the put pressure not just in the negotiating rooms and outside. power at mobilizing. when you take away one of our key pools, minimize our ability to help shape these negotiations and deliver the impact we need. america we want to thank you so much, asad rehman, executive director of war on want and lead spokesperson for the climate justice coalition. for the first time in nine years, a representative from human rights watch has been allowed access to the united arab emirates. we will speak to her. back in a minute. ♪ [music break]

amy: "if i should fall from grace with god" by the pogues. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are broadcasting from the u.n. climate summit in dubai, in the united arab emirates.

this year marks the first time in nine years that human rights watch has been allowed access to the united arab emirates. we turn now to look at the conditions in the uae, the climate crisis, as well as human rights watch. human rights watch is out the new report "'you can smell petrol in the air': uae fossil fuels feed toxic pollution." it's really report titled "heat at cop28 highlights risks to migrant workers." for more, we are joined by joey shea, a researcher in the middle east and north africa division of human rights watch investigating human rights abuses in saudi arabia and the united arab emirates. she, along with four colleagues, have been allowed for the first time in nine years to uae. joey, thank you for joining us. talk about the significance of what you have found in one report after another you are putting out now. >> it is great to be here. as you said, this is the first

time human rights watch has been able to access the uae in nine years. authorities have engaged on sustained assault against basic rights and freedom. there's no independent civil society in this country. civil society organizations have been banned and there is been a sustained targeting of human rights defenders, activists, judges, lawyers, regular karate citizens who dare speak out about human rights abuses taking places. one of the cases we've been following close is the case of a current member of human rights watch advisory committee and he been imprisoned in an isolation cell since march 2017. he was arrested and detained and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2018, based purely on tweets related to documentation of violations in the uae as well as private messages sent from him to groups like amnesty

international and human rights watch. we are happy to be here and want to continue to engage. the human rights crisis is very concerning. amy: if you could talk about other mass trials of people who simply signed petitions? >> we have been following this case called the uae 94 for the past 10 years. in 2011, a group of academics, lawyers drafted a very politely worded petition calling for greater participation in governance in the uae. for that petition starting in 2012, there was a month-long crackdown on those individuals and they were arbitrarily arrested step 94 of them. in 2013 after a trial marked with due process violations that did not meet the standards for a fair trial, these -- 69 of these

defendants were sentenced between five and 10 years imprisonment. many of the defendants have been up for release even though they should not have spent a single day in prison. they are still being held beyond the release date on these bogus counterterrorism charges, which effectively allows uae authorities to keep individuals imprisoned indefinitely. amy: joey, can you talk about migrant workers? people may be surprised to understand that 88% of the population of united arab emirates are migrant workers. 88%. what are the conditions they work under? >> horrendous. migrant workers in the uae work under what is called the sponsorship system which ties their legal status in this country to their employers. this makes them incredibly

vulnerable to labor-related violations. exorbitant recruitment fees, wage theft, and also extreme heat-related health risks. where we are today in dubai expo city where cop28 is being held was built by migrant workers. in the summer months in the uae, the temperatures come up to 100 degrees fahrenheit, completely extreme heat and yet these workers are forced to labor even in these conditions of extreme heat. there are woefully inadequate protections in place. amy: have there been changes in dealing with her working conditions that they not be required to work when it is so hot out? >> yes, there has been some reform. the uae prohibits explicitly forced labor. as well have brought in the midday work ban which spans from june until september and does not allow work between noon and

3:00 p.m. however, if you have ever been to dubai in august, extreme heat goes beyond just noon and 3:00 p.m. yet these workers are forced to labor in these conditions. as well the government does not enforce these regulations across the board. we have documented time and time again health risks from migrant workers who have been forced to work in these conditions. amy: talk about where these migrant workers are from. >> what is so important for cop28, they come from countries on the front lines of the climate crisis. nepal, bangladesh. uae is externalizing it's climate risks because these workers are on the front lines of the climate crisis, their families back home are subject to the extreme weather events. for example, their homes are being destroyed. the migrant workers here are unable to send remittances back because there subject to this

abusive system. amy: nepal, bangladesh, pakistan, philippines. >> absolutely. the families back at home are under severe financial stress from the climate crisis and the workers here are unable to provide that financial support because there subject to the abusive the system that takes their wages and have health impacts from working in extreme heat and there is no compensation from the uae government or from their employers doubt them deal with it. amy: how did they get here? >> there subject to the system so they are brought in by companies and these copies often charge them exorbitant recruitment fees. so already ready when they arrive here, there subject -- in many cases there subject to extreme debt that is difficult to get out of. amy: joey shea, if you can talk

about your mass surveillance report? >> from the moment cop28 participants landed in dubai, there were subject to an intense mass surveillance from the emirate government. there are cameras around public spaces as well as expo city, thousands of cameras conducting mass surveillance. in addition to surveillance, the uae government has been documented using targeted surveillance. for example, the man we just spoke about. he was an early recipient of nso's pegasus spyware and the whatsapp messages used to incriminate him and his case which organizations such as human rights watch were taken from his phone. of pegasus. amy: what are people doing? at the airport we were handed back with our passports, 5g sim card.

>> i hope he did not put that in your phone. it has a chilling effect on cop28 participants who see the cameras, who understand there is mass surveillance. it is impossible to have private conversations here, especially if you are a climate activist trying to mobilize against fossil fuels. amy: tell us what will happen if you put those 5g sim cards and your phones. >> it is likely would be tracked and your phone may be infected with spyware we don't even know exists. amy: how does it feel to be back in the uae? >> it feels good but we also have seen the intense deterioration in the human rights situation in this country over the past 10 years. we want to be able to have access but unfortunately we are not sure that will be the case beyond special rules set out by the u.n. just for cop28. joey shea, thank you for being

with us. we will link to your reports "heat at cop28 highlights risks to migrant workers." and "'you can smell petrol in the air." it is good to know you are back here. happy belated birthday to emily goss