Reolution on the human rights situation in Egypt
The European Parliament adopted by 326 votes to 46, with 186 abstentions, a resolution on the human rights situation in Egypt.
The text adopted in plenary was tabled as a joint motion for a resolution by the S&D, Renew, Greens/EFA groups and members.
Parliament deeply deplored the continued lack of basic political rights and freedoms in Egypt, including in the context of the holding of COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh. It regretted that COP27 did not lead to an improvement in the human rights situation. It condemned in the strongest terms the Egyptian authorities’ censorship, harassment and intimidation of representatives of Egypt’s civil society, which took place even on international UN premises, as well as the new wave of arrests and detentions in the context of COP27.
It firmly condemned the continued arbitrary and pre-trial detention of tens of thousands of prisoners of conscience in Egypt, many of whom are detained in inhuman conditions without access to a fair trial or basic rights.
The resolution called on Egypt to:
- release all journalists who were detained as of November 2022;
- close case 173/2011, known as ‘the Foreign funding case’, and lift all travel bans and assets freezes against 31 employees of human rights NGOs;
- reinforce their cooperation with the EU in finding new ways to further protect women against sexual abuse and gender-based violence;
- end arrests and prosecutions for adult consensual sexual relations, including same-sex relations or relations based on gender expression, and to immediately release LGBTIQ+ people;
- further strengthen the implementation of the law on child marriage and protect children against child abuse;
- abolish the death penalty and declare an immediate moratorium on its application.
Lastly, Parliament reiterated its call for a profound and comprehensive review of the EU’s relations with Egypt in light of the very limited progress on Egypt’s human rights record and of its crackdown on dissent, despite continuing support from European partners. It called on the EU Member States to consider adopting targeted sanctions against those most responsible for the brutal repression in the country.