Files: United Nations
Joint statement of Egyptian human rights organizations
11 October, 2023
Delivered by Hossam Bahgat
Madam Chair, distinguished members
27 Jan 2023
The human rights crisis in Egypt has persisted and even worsened over the last three years, as confirmed by the mid-term report submitted by the Egyptian Taskforce for Human Rights* to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism at the United Nations, titled ‘A Crisis by Design: The Systematic Nature of Human Rights Violations in Egypt’.
The evictions carried out by the Israeli authorities in Sheikh Jarrah and other old neighborhoods in East Jerusalem are a clear and explicit violation of international law, which may amount to “war crimes” as described by the spokesperson for United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville. The signatory organizations denounce the position of US President Biden’s administration regarding the attacks that may amount to crimes against humanity committed by Israel against Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories.
Professor Heyns, who last held the position of Director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa at the University of Pretoria, and who was a member of the UN Human Rights Committee from 2017 to 2020, was constantly engaged in regional and international human rights initiatives and legal reform projects in addition to his teaching and scholarly work.
