Whistleblowing and the protection of whistleblowers' rights
have become commonplace in many countries, although there is still
work to be done on truly changing cultures. In the UAE, the idea of
speaking-up is less well established, in large part due to the
potential for retaliation due to the limited whistleblower
protections available.
Whilst still a long way off being standard practice across the
region, in November 2018 the Dubai International Financial Centre
(DIFC) issued a law which makes it obligatory to disclose certain
conduct, and offers protection to those that do so.
The DIFC Law No. 7 of 2018 states that an
individual with a "reasonable suspicion" of a
contravention to DIFC Law who discloses this in "good
faith" will not be subject to:
