An Indian driver crashes into an Emirati driver in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — a common occurrence — the Emirati driver subsequently gets out of his car and starts to hit the Indian driver with his black circular ropelike headgear. That kind of attack is also relatively common and doesn't raise many eyebrows. However, it was filmed by a young Indian in a nearby car and posted on YouTube. The event soon circulated on social media and the Emirati driver, a public official, was arrested for attacking the other driver. The young Indian who filmed the attack was also arrested.

The case has now been amicably resolved and all charges against both parties have been dropped. It remains a significant case and highlights the shortcomings of UAE's legal system, as it slowly transforms to meet world expectations of human rights. What's evident here, however, is the young Indian's unfamiliarity with the recently enacted cyber law that incriminated him. The UAE has a vibrant expatriate "community," comprising approximately 90% of the UAE's population. Many are transient and do not encounter difficulty in going about their activities, and many others have firm roots and are well-acquainted with the particularities of life in the UAE. An unfortunate few find themselves at the crossroads of traditional and modern, the area where the law shifts from gray to black.

The UAE's legal system is still developing and altering to deal with the realities of changing economic and social conditions. Cases like having sex on the beach, the driver attack and many others are the "growing pains" of the UAE's legal system. The most difficult challenge it has had to face was the trial of 94 members of the Islamist Al-Islah for forming a clandestine political organization. The human rights situation of the prisoners at the time was an area of contention for many international observers, as there were claims of torture and other violations of basic human rights. The UAE was able to set up an independent investigation into these allegations of human rights violations and clear the record, but they chose to shun the claims and take a defensive approach.

These issues of minor human rights violations and states condemning others for assorted human rights related concerns are, unfortunately like many other matters in the international community, a political game. Claims of violations may or may not be legitimate, but the failure is in the approach states, other international organizations and many nongovernmental organizations take to human rights violations. The UN has yet to fulfill its role in upholding human rights — let alone its many other goals and priorities — and has not developed effective mechanisms to deal with violations and humanitarian crises. The resolutions condemning human rights by the UN, its member states, nongovernmental organizations and other international organizations have resulted in countless wasted stacks of paper and have rarely created any progress in resolving these issues.