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US should push Egypt for ‘significant enhancements’ on human rights, specialists say
MEE employees
Mon, 11/08/2021 – 16:24
Greater than a dozen overseas coverage specialists known as on the US to press Egypt on human rights reforms as the 2 nations’ overseas ministers met in Washington on Monday for a two-day strategic dialogue summit.
In a letter despatched to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 15 members of the Working Group on Egypt known as on Washington’s prime diplomat to “converse forthrightly about Egypt’s appalling human rights report and press the Egyptian delegation on the pressing want for significant enhancements”.
“Beneath President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt is without doubt one of the world’s worst human rights abusers,” the specialists mentioned.
“We hope that you’ll clarify that the Egyptian authorities’s failure to enhance its human rights report, together with its unwillingness to totally implement these measures, could have damaging penalties for its relationship with america.”
The group consists of specialists from organisations together with the Challenge on Center East Democracy; the Council on Overseas Relations; the Carnegie Endowment for Worldwide Peace; and The Tahrir Institute for Center East Coverage.
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Throughout his opening remarks on the discussion board, Blinken addressed the problem of human rights and recommended Cairo for the discharge of its nationwide human rights technique, whereas additionally saying there have been some problems with concern – with out going into additional element.
“Making tangible and lasting enhancements on human rights can be important to strengthening our bilateral relationship, and america will proceed to help these efforts,” he mentioned.
However the specialists mentioned the human rights technique – which was introduced in September – was principally “beauty” and urged Washington to carry Cairo accountable for significant reform, together with “liberating political prisoners, halting ‘countless’ detentions, staying all executions, stopping prison prosecutions of human rights activists”.
Egypt is taken into account to be the world’s third-worst jailer of journalists, behind China and Turkey, with an estimated 60,000 political prisoners being held in jails within the nation, in line with rights teams.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has constantly denied this, saying there are not any political prisoners and framing the crackdown as a part of a struggle in opposition to terrorism.
The marketing campaign in opposition to dissidents has additionally focused US residents, everlasting residents, visa holders and their members of the family, in line with a report launched in Could.
US-Egypt assist
The strategic summit is the primary of its variety between the 2 nations since 2015. Blinken and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry might be spending the following two days discussing quite a few points together with regional safety, bilateral relations and human rights.
Blinken spoke of how the US and Egypt can work collectively on making certain the political course of in Libya stays on monitor and the way “america and Egypt have a shared curiosity in getting [Sudan’s] democratic transition again on monitor” after Sudanese Common Abdel Fattah al-Burhan enacted a navy coup final month.
Egypt, nevertheless, was notably absent from a joint assertion from the US, UK, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that known as for the restoration of a civilian-led authorities in Khartoum.
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Blinken and Shoukry additionally spoke concerning the financial ties between the 2 nations, with Egypt being the second-largest recipient of American assist, trailing solely behind Israel.
Since 1946, the North African nation has obtained greater than $83bn in overseas help from the US.
This assist has additionally been a matter of debate in Washington, as rights teams, overseas coverage specialists, and lawmakers have known as for slicing a portion of this assist over issues of human rights violations in Egypt.
In September, the Biden administration froze $130m of the annual $1.3bn it provides to Egypt and agreed to launch the funds provided that the Sisi authorities meets a set of human rights calls for.
Whereas the choice was seen as center floor between the White Home and Congress, which had launched a legislation calling for the withholding of $300m in assist, some lawmakers had mentioned the Biden administration fell wanting its human rights commitments.
“The administration ought to make plain that it has no intention of reversing its determination and that it expects Egypt to satisfy these benchmarks – and that failure to take action will outcome within the forfeiture of the suspended help,” the Working Group on Egypt mentioned.
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