Amnesty International on Wednesday accused Egypt’s government of trying to cover up unrelenting human rights violation in order to improve its international standing ahead of hosting the world climate summit, reported The Africa News.
Egypt’s human rights record has come under scrutiny ahead of the November global COP27 summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Several international rights groups have called on the Egypt government to end its crackdown on civil society and protect freedom of expression.
Amnesty International’s 48-page report called on the Egyptian government to implement changes and stop abuses, citing suppression of dissent, restraining personal freedoms and mass imprisonment after President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi came to power in 2013. It is estimated that there are thousands of political prisoners currently held in Egyptian jails.
“The international community must … pressure the Egyptian authorities to take meaningful steps to end the cycle of abuse and impunity,” the report said.
Amnesty International recommended the Cairo government’s act to advance workers’ rights, end arbitrary detention and outlaw censorship of independent media. The London-based rights group’s findings were based on interviews with victims of human rights violations and lawyers, other documentation and Amnesty publications compiled over the past decade.
The Egypt government is yet to comment on Amnesty’s latest report.
For human rights defenders, the awarding of the COP27 to Egypt is seen as a “reward to a repressive power”.
Mr. Sissi, who came to power in 2013, is accused by the human rights activists of having gradually muzzled the people of the country.
According to Amnesty, Egypt has more than 60,000 prisoners of conscience, including peaceful activists, lawyers, academics, and journalists.
El-Sissi’s government has recently released dozens of high-profile detainees under presidential pardons and established a new strategy to upgrade human rights conditions.
The international rights group described the strategy as a cover-up used to broker favor with foreign governments and financial institutions.
