Under the new law anyone who wishes to sponsor or carry out any volunteering initiatives will have to get permission…

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai has just issued Law No. (5) of 2018, relating to volunteering in Dubai. 

The new law, which comes into effect once published in the Official Gazette, will look to regulate volunteering, as well as promoting social responsibility and encouraging residents to help their community. 

Under the new law anyone who wishes to sponsor or carry out any volunteering initiatives will have to get permission from Dubai’s Community Development Authority (CDA). You’ll also have to register in the CDA database, and ensure you’ve got all the correct permits from the CDA too. Full details of the required permits were not outlined.

The law also highlights that the volunteer teams are not allowed to conduct any fundraising activities, including advertising through any kind of media, unless the team obtains approval from CDA.

The CDA will in turn be responsible for coordinating volunteering programmes, establishing a database for volunteers in Dubai, issuing identification cards for volunteers, issuing participation certificates for volunteers, helping entities to attract volunteers for their initiatives and nominating volunteers to participate in volunteering initiatives based on their skills and qualifications.

Both public and private sponsors will need to give details of the ‘standards and regulations’ of their volunteering activity to the CDA. The CDA will also require a record of all volunteers’ names, personal information, the nature of work they have done and the hours they have done volunteering work.

In addition, insurance against injury, contagion and civil liabilities will have to be supplied by the sponsor under the new rule, and all volunteers must sign the volunteering agreement issued by CDA and this agreement must detail the relationship between the volunteer and the entity

Volunteers must be over 18 years old, or obtain approval from their legal guardian if they wish to get involved in volunteering activities.

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