Amnesty International (AI) has urged the European Union (EU) to pressure Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to tackle human rights crisis in the country.
The organisation made the call ahead of the sixth EU and African Union (AU) summit, with leaders focusing on joint priorities for both sides’ common future.
‘Human rights defenders and other civil society actors continue to be subjected to politically motivated criminal investigations, travel bans, asset freezes, extrajudicial probation measures, and other forms of harassment’, AI said in a statement.
‘Despite their self-proclaimed efforts to combat discrimination against women, the Egyptian authorities continue to crack down on women, including survivors of sexual violence, on absurd “morality” or “indecency” charges.
‘They have also punished women’s rights defenders for speaking out against sexual harassment’.
AI accused Egyptian authorities of cracking down on any form of dissent, with several people behind bars for peacefully exercising their human rights in the North African country.
Data from Human Rights Watch (HRW) suggests that Egypt has been experiencing its worst human rights crisis in many decades under Al-Sisi’s government, with tens of thousands of government critics imprisoned on politically motivated charges.
Freedom House rated the country as ‘not free’ in its 2021 Freedom in the World study of political rights and civil liberties worldwide, with the country earning 18 points out of a possible 100.
Egyptian security forces, according to the U.S. State Department Egypt 2020 Human Rights Report, had carried out arbitrary arrests, torture, and enforced disappearances and other gross human rights violations.
AI also raised wider concerns about the authorities’ recent efforts to eradicate independent human rights civil society organisations (CSOs) in the country.
The Maghreb nation had enacted a Law on Regulating the Work of Civil Associations, also known as the NGO law, against popular outcry and civil society condemnation.
The NGO law prohibits a wide range of activities, such as to ‘conduct opinion polls and publish or make their results available or conduct field researches or disclose their results’ without government approval.
It also prohibits cooperation with foreign organisations or experts, imposes a strict system of prior approval for foreign organisations to be able to work in the country, and allows for government surveillance and monitoring of organisations’ daily activities.
‘EU leaders meeting with President al-Sisi this week should use this opportunity to denounce his government’s crackdown on human rights’, Director of AI’s EU Office, Eve Geddie, said.
‘Despite his attempts at window dressing, the reality is that gross human rights violations continue unabated in Egypt. EU leaders must not offer him an opportunity to whitewash Egypt’s deeply repressive policies.
‘By continuing to pursue business-as-usual relations with Egypt, the EU risks undermining its own credibility. The upcoming meeting with al-Sisi must not offer Egypt an opportunity to conceal its horrendous human rights abuses’.
AI also called on African and European leaders to deliver on their human rights commitments in policy and practice, as they confront multiple challenges together.
Source: Amnesty International
Photo source: Amnesty International
