Egypt: Group Urges EBRD to Address Rights Issues

The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) and six other civil society organisations have called on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to address human rights issues in Egypt.

The organisations, including Human Rights Watch (HRW), Bankwatch, EuroMed Rights, International Federation for Human rights (FIDH), CNCD-11.11.11 and The Tahir Institute for Middle East Policy, made the call in a joint response to EBRD’s 2022–2027 strategy for Egypt.

They, however, commended the EBRD for recognising Egypt’s governance and transparency shortcomings.

‘We are concerned, though, that the language used to describe the human rights and rule of law crisis remains excessively diplomatic’, the rights group said in a statement.

‘The language of the assessment should have been more in line with the documents and statements published by UN bodies on the same issues and, while the multiple references to UN rights experts’ statements is welcomed, their expert conclusions should have been more accurately reflected.

‘It is unfortunate that the EBRD did not include an assessment of fundamental rights issues such as the right to life, the rights of Christians and other religious minorities, freedom of expression, and the rights of women and LGTBQI+ people.

‘The bank’s political methodology also does not seem to provide objective and concrete criteria to assess developments regarding the rule of law, judicial independence, and the situation of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants in Egypt.

‘Moreover, we must reiterate our regret that the EBRD did not refer to the grave violations that took place during Egypt’s 2018 presidential election in the 2022 political assessment, particularly because of the concentration of power in the Egyptian Executive branch.

‘We insist that the strategy should include necessary reforms of repressive laws, protections against the harassment of human rights defenders and policies which promote the existence of an independent Egyptian civil society’.

Egypt ranked 136 out of 139 countries in the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index for 2021, with abysmally low scores in regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice factors.

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.

Freedom House also ranked the Maghreb nation as ‘not free’ in its 2022 Freedom in the World report on political rights and civil liberties, with the North African country earning 18 points out of a possible 100.

Source: EuroMed Rights

Photo source: Pellufa

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