ABU DHABI (AFP) - The United Arab Emirates on Friday rejected a damning Human Rights Watch report claiming foreign maids from impoverished countries endure physical, sexual and emotional abuse in the oil-flush state.

The report drew "hasty conclusions based on unrepresentative cases", said Amna al-Meheiri, director of human rights at Abu Dhabi's foreign ministry.

It "ignores the general situation in the Emirates, a country that gives opportunities to 200 different nationalities and that is working on improving conditions for foreign workers," Meheiri said in remarks published by official news agency WAM.

The New York-based HRW, in a report released on Thursday, detailed alleged rights violations against domestic workers in the country and called on the UAE to reform a restrictive visa system and pass a labour law for domestic workers to stop the abuses.