Egypt authorities arbitrarily detaining activists ahead of UN review: report News
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Egypt authorities arbitrarily detaining activists ahead of UN review: report

Egyptian officials have arbitrarily investigated and detained human rights activists over peaceful dissent ahead of Tuesday’s UN Universal Period Review (UPR), Amnesty International said Monday.

Activists that are under investigation include politician Hisham Kassem and activist Hossam Bahgat. Detained activists include Nada Mogheeth (spouse to cartoonist Ashraf Omar), journalist Ahmed Serag, and TikToker Mohamed Allam.

The goal of the UPR is to report on improvements a country has made in terms of human rights and to make recommendations to the country for further improvement. The review process happens every four-and-a-half years for UN Member states.

The UPR addresses the human rights goals outlined in: (1) the UN Charter; (2) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; (3) human rights treaties in which the state is a member; (4) voluntary agreements made by the state; and (5) international humanitarian law.

In a January 24 press release, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights called on the UN to focus on a variety of issues, such as torture, enforced disappearances, unfair trials, and prison conditions.

Human rights activists hope to channel the momentum of the January 25 revolution of 2011, which led to the overthrow of the President Hosni Mubarak, who held the position for 30 years.