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United Arab Emirates
Approximately 89 percent of the country's residents were noncitizens originating primarily from the Indian subcontinent. Societal discrimination against noncitizens was prevalent and occurred in most areas of daily life, including employment, education, housing, social interaction, and health care.
The law criminalizes commercial disputes and bankruptcy, which led to discrimination against foreigners. In practice, these laws were selectively enforced and allowed local Emiratis to threaten expatriate business people and foreign workers with harsh prison sentences to assure a favorable outcome in commercial disputes.
