“When the history of the January 25 revolution is written, it will be described as a revolution that cared more about cleaning up Tahrir Square than sweeping away the old regime. And in both …
The European Parliament resolution and critical mass for human rights in Egypt
High hopes were raised by the European Parliament’s 18 December resolution on the deteriorating human rights situation in Egypt. The exceptional recommendations contained in the resolution reinforce hope for improvement …
Al-Sisi’s Egypt is a force of instability and insecurity in the region: France must end its complicity
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s visit to Paris comes amid the worst crackdown on freedoms in modern Egyptian history. The recent arrest of three members of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal …
Trump’s defeat shocked Sisi.. How he intends to survive the Biden era is not clear
While Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential election could have been anticipated, it has caused a shock in Egyptian President Abdelfatah al-Sisi’s circles. Egyptian regime media covered the US election …
I escaped Sisi’s jails, but thousands of others haven’t been as lucky
“I consider myself lucky” I told the 33rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva in 2016, when an Egyptian court ordered the freezing of my assets. Two years earlier I …
“The Sick Man of the 21st Century” Will Not Die in Peace
Despite that the Middle East and North Africa region is one of the least affected by COVID-19, the economic and political repercussions of the pandemic forebode a “long-term” catastrophe that …
Egypt’s Agenda for Reshaping the UN on Counterterrrorism: What Sentencing of Human Rights Leader Tells Us
By Neil Hicks An Egyptian terrorism court sentenced prominent human rights leader Bahey eldin Hassan in absentia on Aug. 25 to 15 years imprisonment. His crimes: “insulting the judiciary” and “propagating fake …
It’s official: In Egypt, you can now get 15 years in jail for a tweet
By Elisa Massimino and Neil Hicks In the six years since Abdel Fatah al-Sissi assumed the presidency in Egypt, the country has devolved into the deepest human rights crisis it has experienced in …
A job or a calling? Egypt’s human rights movement from the Mubarak era to Sisi
It was the morning of 3 July, 2013, with the military coup to be declared by Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi later that same day. Fourteen Egyptian rights organisations, under …
The UN Settlements Database is Out. Now What?
Following civil society organisations’ tireless efforts in Palestine and around the world, the UN Office of the High Commissioner fulfilled the mandate entrusted to it by the Human Rights Council in …
Gender Equality: Still a Long Way Down the Line
Messaoud Romdhani “Mind the Gap!!” In 1993, the UN General Assembly issued the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, defining such violence as “any act of gender-based violence …
A Question of UN Credibility: Releasing the Settlements Database
by Nada Awad, Maha Abdullah Hundreds of Palestinian, regional, and international organizations have called on the previous and current UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to release the UN database of companies engaged in …
Libya and International Justice Symposium: Impunity Begets Impunity
International accountability as a tool to empower and protect [Jeremie Smith is the Director of the Geneva Office at the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies and Karim Salem is Libya …
New Political Struggles for Egypt’s Military
The internal debates over new amendments in Egypt reveal the renewed struggle between the president and the military for political dominance. Much of the focus on the Egyptian constitutional amendments …
Why we’re pushing back against the Egyptian president’s constitutional coup
This has been a grim month for Egyptians who seek a better life and believe in dignity and freedom. First, on April 9, there was President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi’s visit …