In response to the Biden administration’s recent decision to release $320 million in military assistance to the Egypt government that is mandated by Congress to be conditioned on meeting certain human rights standards, Elizabeth Rghebi, Middle East and North Africa Director for Amnesty International USA, made the following statement:
“The State Department has decided to override Congress’s human rights concerns by releasing the full amount of conditioned military assistance, using a national security waiver and falsely citing nonexistent human rights improvements regarding prisoners held for political reasons. The Biden administration has continued to make politically and diplomatically expedient decisions at the expense of the human rights of the people in Egypt.
“The reality is that Egypt continues to be in the throes of a crisis of impunity for human rights violations. The authorities continue to impose undue restrictions on freedom of expression, muzzle independent civil society, and effectively criminalize peaceful assembly. Thousands languish unjustly behind bars solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights or following grossly unfair trials, including human rights defenders, journalists, and political opponents. While Egyptian authorities released 834 prisoners held for political reasons in 2023, more than triple that number were arrested in the same period. Impunity also prevails with no accountability for unlawful killings, torture and other ill-treatment, and enforced disappearances committed by security forces.
“Congress must urgently use its power and oversight responsibility to challenge the basis of President Biden’s decision for the sake of human rights in Egypt.”
“Unfortunately, this is only the latest in a cascading pattern of decisions by the Biden administration that are disastrous for human rights across the Middle East and North Africa. This includes the recent lifting of the suspension of offensive weapons shipments to Saudi Arabia as well as continuing weapons sales and transfers to the Israeli government when U.S.-supplied weapons are being used in war crimes by Israeli forces and Palestinians remain at risk of genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip.
“For an administration that began with a stated commitment to put human rights at the center of its foreign policy, it seems content in its final months to race to the bottom by ignoring its human rights obligations in the region while undermining the rule of law.”
CONTACT: [email protected]