Egypt faces a tough test

The Egyptian government faces a critical test on Tuesday, 28 January, when it will appear before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) amid allegations of increasing human rights violations and oppressive practices against political opponents.

The administration of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi seeks to showcase steps it has taken in the human rights realm during Egypt’s fourth review under the Universal Periodic Review mechanism, which includes 193 countries.

This comes at a sensitive time for Cairo, coinciding with the start of Donald Trump’s second presidential term, ongoing negotiations with the European Union (EU) for financial aid and a severe economic crisis gripping the country during Al-Sisi’s third term, set to last until 2030.

Cosmetic measures

In such tests, Cairo often resorts to political cosmetic measures to address the 372 recommendations issued by 133 countries during the third review session in 2019, making it difficult to whitewash its poor human rights record.

The Egyptian delegation frequently cites the country’s challenges, such as the repercussions of the Ukraine war, the conflicts in Gaza and Sudan, the COVID-19 pandemic and rising illegal migration rates, as justifications for its policies under the premise that: “Things could not have been done better.”

The regime relies on its propaganda machine to highlight initiatives such as the National Dialogue Conference, which began in April 2022; the activation of the Presidential Pardon Committee; the establishment of a National Alliance for Non-profit Civil Development Work and legislative reforms like laws supporting elderly rights, asylum rights, prison regulations, criminal procedures and Egyptian citizenship. It also highlighted removing 716 individuals from terrorism lists.

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Just days ago, Egypt’s Minister for Parliamentary and Legal Affairs Mahmoud Fawzi stated during parliamentary discussions on criminal procedures law: “There are no political detainees in Egypt under the new republic.”

The Egyptian government touts its steps as “achievements”, accompanied by videos produced by the Ministry of Interior showing prisoners playing football, receiving comprehensive health and nutritional care and seemingly enjoying their time behind bars.

On the other hand, human rights organisations claim that Egyptian authorities have released 1,700 political prisoners over the past two years while arresting 4,500 others during the same period. They accuse the government of extending pre-trial detentions for years, engaging in enforced disappearances, fabricating new cases against detainees, denying family visits and medication, medical neglect, travel bans and blacklisting individuals on terrorism lists.

According to Egyptian human rights groups, over 50 political prisoners died in 2024 due to medical negligence in Egyptian prisons.

The “Stop Enforced Disappearances” campaign, initiated by the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, documented 821 enforced disappearance cases between August 2022 and August 2023.

Additionally, 43 journalists remain behind bars, while 319 violations against press and media freedoms were recorded in 2024, according to the Istanbul-based Arab Media Freedom Monitor.

A report submitted by 13 human rights organisations to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in July 2024 stated that the Egyptian government had failed to implement recommendations from past Universal Periodic Reviews over the past 14 years, highlighting the ongoing severe deterioration of human rights conditions in the country.

Missed opportunities

The Egyptian regime seems akin to a bear that inadvertently kills its owner. Immediately before the Universal Periodic Review of human rights, it carried out a wave of arrests, including that of academic Nada Mughith, wife of detained cartoonist Ashraf Omar, before releasing her on bail for 5,000 Egyptian pounds ($100). Poet and novelist Ahmed Serag was also detained for 15 days pending investigation on charges that included: “Joining a terrorist group and spreading false news.” The same fate befell content creator Mohamed Allam, known as Rivaldo.

Meanwhile, British-Egyptian academic Laila Soueif (68) has been on hunger strike for four months outside the British prime minister’s residence, demanding the release of her son, blogger Alaa Abd Al-Fattah. Although his five-year prison sentence ended in September 2024, authorities insist on detaining him until 2027. This issue prominently influenced the discussions held by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy with Egyptian officials in Cairo last Thursday.

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Opponents accuse the Egyptian government of being involved in the arrest and extradition of opposition figure and poet Abdel Rahman Youssef to the United Arab Emirates amid reports of security arrangements to coordinate the transfer of the late Islamic scholar Yusuf Al-Qaradawi’s son to an Egyptian prison.

The art of missing opportunities has been a hallmark of governance in Egypt, as was clear in the exclusion of any political prisoners from the recent presidential pardon list. The list, issued a few days ago to mark the anniversary of the 25 January Revolution, included 4,600 prisoners but was limited solely to those convicted of criminal offences.

Downgrade threat

Given these developments, the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) faces the risk of being downgraded to Category B by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions. This could also lead to European and Western condemnation of the Egyptian regime’s policies, potentially resulting in reduced or delayed loans and financial aid.

The downgrading of Egypt’s NCHR from Category A to Category B has been unprecedented in the past 20 years. The decision follows the Alliance granting the council a 12-month deadline to prove its effectiveness as a mechanism for holding the state accountable and ensuring justice for victims of human rights violations. The downgrade, according to political researcher Emad Hamdi, is attributed to the continued widespread human rights violations in the country, including acts of torture and extrajudicial killings, as well as the nationalisation of the council through government-appointed officials. The council has also failed to achieve its core objectives, which include supporting democratic values, resolving human rights crises, providing policy recommendations to the government, holding executive authorities accountable and strengthening its independence and funding.

The council’s recommendations, which have not been published in any reports since 2020, are non-binding for the government, and its visits to detention facilities are always prearranged by the authorities. According to human rights reports, this undermines their value as oversight mechanisms and reduces them to mere formalities.

Western pressure

What the military rule in Egypt has failed to grasp since the July 2013 coup is that the collapse of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime in Syria, along with the spotlight on the tragedy of Sednaya Prison, has intensified scrutiny of the Egyptian regime’s practices, highlighting it as one of the most oppressive governments in the Middle East when it comes to suppressing dissent.

While Egyptian authorities claim to have made significant progress on previous review recommendations, this narrative contrasts sharply with reports from UN experts, special rapporteurs and local and international non-governmental organisations.

The mounting human rights pressure was evident during European Parliament President Roberta Metsola’s recent visit to Cairo, where she called for political and human rights reforms before approving the second tranche of a €4 billion aid package.

A human rights official, speaking anonymously, stressed the need for a freer and safer environment for human rights organisations in Egypt, urging reform without external pressure or propaganda-driven initiatives that might hinder the slow steps of reform in the country.

The upcoming Geneva review presents a tough challenge for Al-Sisi’s regime, which may be forced to provide more political and human rights guarantees, address pre-trial detentions, end arbitrary arrests and enhance media freedoms—or risk exposing itself further on the global stage. It may, however, resort to deceit and embellishment, much like it has done over the past decade.

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The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.