Thank you,
We welcome the joint declaration made by states made under this Agenda Item condemning the widespread and systematic human rights violations being carried out by the Egyptian government - and view this declaration as the beginning of a long overdue process to ensure strong and consistent attention at this Council on the human rights crises in Egypt.
Earlier this year more than 100 NGOs from around the world wrote to UN member states to warn them that the Egyptian government is attempting to annihilate human rights organizations and eradicate the human rights movement in the country through sustained, widespread, and systematic attacks.
Such attacks have occurred in the context of an “increasingly brutal crackdown on human rights defenders and civil and political rights more broadly”, often carried out under the guise of “counterterrorism.”
The message today to the Egyptian government is clear: you will no longer be given carte blanche to imprison, torture and murder peaceful critics.
Going forward, we urge this Council and its members to demand that Egypt begin to immediately release the many human rights defenders, journalists, academics, artists and politicians, who have been arbitrarily detained in Egypt, including the 42 [1] individuals whose cases have been raised by the Special Procedures and OHCHR.
Thank you.