African Commission urged to confront deepening human rights crisis in Egypt News
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African Commission urged to confront deepening human rights crisis in Egypt

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights should take decisive action to address Egypt’s long-running human rights crisis following its review of the country’s record, 22 organizations said on Thursday. The statement followed the commission’s 85th session, during which both the Egyptian government and the commission’s country rapporteur presented reports that rights groups claim misrepresented or overlooked key abuses.

Egypt’s official report to the body, covering 2019 to 2024, rejected the existence of detained journalists or prisoners of conscience and framed restrictions on civil society as measures to promote “transparency.” The country’s report similarly omitted reference to widespread violations and described the 2023 presidential election as “peaceful” and “competitive,” despite extensive documentation of repression, prosecutions of potential candidates, and the effective criminalization of assembly, expression, and association. A 2024 “familiarization visit” by the rapporteur was also criticized for involving no meetings with independent Egyptian human rights groups.

However, extensive documentation paints a sharply different picture. Over the past decade, Egypt has detained thousands of peaceful critics, journalists, political figures, human rights defenders, labor organizers, and protesters under broad terrorism and “false news” charges. Rights groups and UN mechanisms have recorded persistent patterns of enforced disappearance, systematic torture, and prolonged pretrial detention, often renewed through the “rotation” of detainees into new cases with similar accusations.

Authorities have blocked hundreds of news and civil society websites, dispersed small demonstrations, and made preemptive mass arrests around anticipated protests over economic conditions, electricity outages, and the government’s response to regional conflicts. Prominent figures such as blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah, lawyer Hoda Abdel Moneim, and political challenger Ahmed Tantawy remained imprisoned or under renewed charges despite serving prior sentences.

Structural changes undertaken since 2019 have further entrenched security power. Constitutional amendments expanded military authority, counterterrorism and cybercrime laws remain broad, and a recent draft Criminal Procedure Code drew international criticism for weakening fair-trial protections and enabling prolonged detention without meaningful judicial review. Rights groups also note a lack of accountability for deaths in custody, torture allegations, and past incidents such as mass killings of protesters.

The African Commission has previously issued several resolutions finding Egypt in violation of the African Charter and identifying concerns including mass death sentences, restrictions on journalists, and fair-trial violations. However, it has not adopted a new resolution on Egypt since 2015, despite the worsening situation. Rights organizations say Cairo has failed to implement the commission’s prior recommendations or comply with decisions in individual complaints.

The coalition urged the commission to issue a new resolution and ensure its concluding observations reflect an evidence-based assessment of current conditions. They called for stronger public engagement, urgent appeals to the Egyptian government, and a dedicated follow-up mechanism under Rule 112 to track the implementation of recommendations. They also warned that ongoing patterns of arbitrary detention, abuse in custody, and counterterrorism operations may warrant the use of the commission’s early-warning powers to alert the African Union Peace and Security Council.

The organizations added that any proposal to hold a future African Commission session in Egypt must be conditioned on verifiable guarantees that all participants—including domestic critics—can safely enter, participate, and leave the country without intimidation or reprisals.

THIS DAY @ LAW

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On February 28, 1933, German President Paul von Hindenburg issued the Presidential Decree for the Protection of People and State in response to the burning of the Reichstag (the German Parliament building) on the previous day. More commonly known as the Reichstag Fire Decree, the law suspended many key civil liberties, such as free press, habeas corpus, and warrant requirements. Blaming Communists for the attack on the Reichstag, the Nazi party and newly-appointed Chancellor Adolf Hitler pressed the law through as a first step in establishing absolute control over Germany. On March 23, the German Parliament passed the Enabling Act, which empowered Adolf Hitler to become the dictator of Germany. Four months later on July 14, the Nazis solidified their control over Germany with the passage of the Law Against the Establishment of Parties eliminated all political parties in Germany other than the Nazi Party.

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