On 28 January 2025, during Egypt’s fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR), 137 UN Member States expressed serious concern regarding the continued deterioration of the human rights situation in Egypt and urged the Egyptian authorities, inter alia, to:
- “Establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty”;
- “Strengthen efforts to prevent and combat all forms of torture and ill-treatment, ensuring that those responsible are held accountable”;
- “Ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance”, and “create an independent body to investigate enforced disappearances”;
- “Ensure the right to freedom of expression for all including by enabling all journalists and human rights defenders to carry out their work without fear of reprisals”; and
- “Guarantee the right to a fair trial”.
.هذا البيان الصحفي متوفر باللغة العربية أيضاً
“Despite accepting a number of recommendations during Egypt’s 2019 UPR, the Egyptian authorities have continued to arbitrarily arrest and detain, forcibly disappear, and torture human rights defenders, journalists and real or perceived political dissidents, while also continuing to impose and carry out death sentences following fundamentally flawed criminal trials,” said Saïd Benarbia, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme Director. “The egregious human rights violations highlighted during the 2025 UPR make it all the more imperative for Egypt to take immediate and drastic steps to protect and respect human rights.”
Four recommendations arising from the January 2025 UPR called on the Egyptian authorities to abolish capital punishment, including through becoming a party to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Pending complete abolition, Member States recommended: (i) an immediate moratorium on executions; (ii) amending article 122 of the Children’s Code to ensure that those convicted of offences they allegedly committed when they were children could not be sentenced to death; and (iii) a reduction in the number of capital crimes.
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) calls on Egypt to abolish the death penalty in all circumstances and, pending abolition, to implement an immediate moratorium on all executions.
Additionally, 16 recommendations called on Egypt to take steps to combat the Egyptian authorities’ use of enforced disappearance and torture against detainees, including by becoming a party to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, respectively.
The ICJ remains concerned at the Egyptian authorities’ use of enforced disappearance and torture, the latter being so widespread and systematic as to constitute a crime against humanity. The ICJ calls on Egypt to promptly, thoroughly, independently and impartially investigate all credible allegations of torture and other ill-treatment and bring to justice State officials and law enforcement officers suspected of carrying out, ordering, instigating or acquiescing in torture and enforced disappearances. The ICJ also urges Egypt to become a party to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and to enact a crime of enforced disappearance in the Egyptian Penal Code consistent with Article 2 of the Convention.
The Egyptian authorities resort to the “Counter-Terrorism” Law to arbitrarily arrest, detain and prosecute peaceful protestors, lawyers, human rights defenders, political opponents and journalists was a prominent concern expressed by UN Member States during Egypt’s January 2025 UPR. With respect to this, one of the UPR recommendations called on the Egyptian authorities to review the 2015 “Counter-Terrorism” Law, including by amending the currently vague and broad terrorism definition to bring it in line with international human rights law and standards and thereby to end its weaponization against government critics. Additionally, two recommendations called on Egypt to lift asset freezes and travel bans imposed on human rights defenders in retaliation for their work, and for respect for their legitimate exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association.
The ICJ calls on Egypt to cease the weaponization of the criminal justice system and the “Counter-Terrorism” Law to arbitrarily arrest, detain, prosecute and sentence dissidents, and for an end to the abuse of ancillary orders to hinder civil society members’ work by restricting their freedom of movement and financial means.
Finally, during the January 2025 UPR two UN Member States recommended that Egypt take steps to ensure that the draft Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) be brought in line with international human rights law and standards. With respect to this, the ICJ notes, in particular, that the current draft of the CPC fails to adequately protect defendants’ and detainees’ rights to: (i) be brought promptly before a judge to rule on the legality of their detention; (ii) legal counsel; (iii) adequate time and facilities for the preparation of a defence; and (iv) equality of arms. The draft CPC also fails to address the Egyptian authorities’ widespread use of “case rotation”, or tadweer, to transfer detainees into new cases on identical facts and charges in connection with which they have already been detained, thus arbitrarily extending their pre-trial detention beyond the maximum time limits prescribed in domestic law.
The ICJ urges Egypt to drop the proposed draft CPC and prepare a new draft in line with international fair trial standards following transparent and good faith consultations with civil society, independent experts and lawyers. The ICJ also calls on Egypt to end the practice of tadweer.
Resources
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Background
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process is an opportunity for United Nations Member States to examine each other’s human rights records and offer recommendations. All States go through the UPR process every four years.
On 16 July 2024, the ICJ made two joint submissions to the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, raising concern over the human rights situation in Egypt and making appropriate recommendations.
Contact
Saïd Benarbia, Director, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme; t: +41 22 979 3800, e: said.benarbia(a)icj.org
Nour Al Hajj, Communications & Advocacy Officer, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme; e: nour.alhajj(a)icj.org