The UAE cannot invoke international law while violating it

The UAE cannot invoke international law while violating it Submitted by Ziyad Motala on Fri, 05/15/2026 - 17:38 Reports of torture sites in Yemen, arms transfers to Sudan and support for Israel's assault on Gaza expose the contradiction at the centre of the Emirati state's legal rhetoric Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, speaks at a press conference on the conflict in Sudan, in the UAE's Abu Dhabi, on 25 November 2025 (Amr Alfiky/Reuters) Off Quoted in Al Arabiya on 1 May 2026, Anwar Gargash , diplomatic adviser to United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, invoked "the collective international will" as the guarantor of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz . It is a familiar register - smooth, assured, and curiously detached from the record of those who deploy it. International law is not a decorative language to be summoned when convenient and shelved when inconvenient.