existing political system of the country, which is a dictatorship as cited in a 2020 report published by Amnesty International. Political reform and Arab spring In early 2007, the United Arab Emirates launched the 'UAE Government Strategy' for the years ahead, which covered twenty-one topics in six different sectors including social development, economic development, public sector development, justice and safety, infrastructure and rural areas development. The initiative is meant to reevaluate and advance these sectors towards top global standards by facilitating better continuous cooperation between federal and local governments with increased efficiency, training, Emiratisaion, ministry empowerment, upgrading of services, improving civil service and legislation review. Subsequently, Abu Dhabi announced implementation of its own policy to modernize public administration practices and government performance in 2007–2008. Plans for reevaluation were laid out in areas including economy, energy, tourism, health, education, labour, civil services, culture and heritage, good control, urban planning, transport, environment, health and safety, municipal affairs, police and emergency services, electronic government, women and legislative reform. Abu Dhabi hopes advancements towards global standards in these areas will improve the quality of services for its residents as well as attract future investment towards further modernizing the Emirate. The country did not see the type of trouble other Arab countries saw during the Arab spring. There were minor protests, during which some people were arrested. International organization affiliations ABEDA AfDB AFESD AL AMF CAEU ESCWA FAO G-77 GCC IAEA IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Inmarsat Intelsat Interpol IOC ISO (correspondent) ITU NAM OAPEC OIC OPCW OPEC United Nations UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO See also Fatwa Council (United Arab Emirates) References External links Dubai Government Information and Services Portal UAE at Adam Carr's Election Archive UAEPrison.com Human Rights problems about UAE Politics & Government at EmiratesVoyage.com