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UN Watch’s Executive Director Hillel Neuer took the floor at the U.N. Human Rights Council during a rare review of Egypt’s human rights record. When no one else would, Neuer demanded Egypt answer for their human rights violations, asking: Why is Egypt holding 60,000 political prisoners? Why are they prosecuting activist Dalia Ziada for the crime of condemning Hamas? Why are they abandoning and oppressing Gazans?
Full Speech:
Mr. Chair,
Egypt claimed that it respects the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. If so, why is it holding 60,000 political prisoners?
Why did it create the Supreme State Security Prosecution, ostensibly to punish terrorism, but which has been mostly used to target human rights activists, to crush free speech?
The latest victim is activist Dalia Ziada. The Public Prosecutor accuses her of high treason. Her crime? She publicly condemned the Hamas massacre of October 7th.
We ask Egypt: is this respect for civil and political rights?
In today’s report, Egypt speaks about its commitment to refugees. Last week, Egypt told this Council that Gaza is suffering one of the greatest humanitarian crises in modern history. So Egypt claims to care about the people of Gaza. But is this true? Let us consider:
When Hamas launched the invasion, they subjected 2 million people in Gaza to war and suffering. Egypt, you used to occupy Gaza for 19 years until 1967, which is just next door. You have massive empty land in the Sinai. When appeals were made for you to temporarily grant asylum to the innocent civilians of Gaza, why did you say no?
If weeks after Russia’s invasion, Poland welcomed 1.3 million Ukrainians; if in the last two years, 3 million Sudanese were taken in by their neighbors; Turkey took in 3.7 million Syrians-then we ask you, Egypt: why haven’t you shown the same basic humanity for your neighbors, for your own Arab and Muslim brothers?
If you care for the people of Gaza, why won’t you offer them temporary asylum, as so many other nations in this room have done for their neighbors facing a humanitarian emergency?
Now, the masses were abandoned. But you did allow some to cross your sealed border. But why did you force these refugees to pay thousands of dollars-and why to a company linked to Egyptian state security and your president, al-Sisi-profiting over $100 million off their desperation?
Do you really care for the people of Gaza?
