Dubai is part of UAE, not a country on its own. What you are referring to is the financial crisis of 2008 where the richest Emirate, Abu Dhabi, bailed out Dubai. To say that things have changed there since then is an understatement. They recently broke into the top 10 of financial centres of the world and their ambition is to be no1 - as shown by the willingness to invest heavily in infrastructure (airport, financial centre, tourist attractions etc) and technology that provides sustainable energy sources. And who knows, with the money that has been funding London in danger, maybe Dubai will overtake that city aswell.
As for human rights - I can only speak from personal experience of going to UAE but on the surface the exposure of being an international tourist and financial centre has improved conditions tenfolds in only a couple of decades. I'll admit I barely know what's going on behind the scenes, though. Still some way to go, but I have high hopes that international money and pressure will build a more tolerant country. There's also hope that the crown prince, Sheikh Hamdan, will help towards that.. Sadly don't have that hope for Saudi Arabia.