CAIRO -

Political and human rights activists interacted with the Egyptian authorities' decision to allow peaceful protests for the first time since they were banned by law in 2013 during the COP 27 climate summit scheduled in Sharm El Sheikh, South Sinai, next November.

In statements to the Associated Press, published by local media, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry confirmed that peaceful protests would be permitted during the conference, adding that work was underway to develop a facility adjacent to the conference center hosting the climate summit, to allow participants to demonstrate and express their opinion. .

The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is scheduled to be held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from 7-18 November 2022, during which Egypt will chair the current session.

Shoukry's statements came after a statement issued by Amnesty International, in which it said that street protests on the sidelines of the climate conferences - which are an integral part of them - are at risk this year, noting that the Egyptian authorities have succeeded in eliminating peaceful protests over the past eight years, using Unlawful force, arrests of thousands, and criminal trials, according to the statement.

The international organization called on “governments participating in the climate conference to pressure the Egyptian authorities to ensure the safe, effective and meaningful participation of Egyptian and non-Egyptian civil society actors,” noting that “Egypt’s poor record in suppressing peaceful dissent and civic space must not be allowed to undermine the success of the conference that is due to begin.” After less than 6 months in Egypt.

The organization said that "the Egyptian authorities should not be allowed to use the COP27 conference as an attempt to improve its image in a way that diverts attention from criticism of its human rights record." Instead, UN member states and international bodies and organizations participating in the event should pressure the authorities. Both private and public, to ensure the effective participation of Egyptian and international civil society.

While Egypt prepares to host the international conference, thousands of individuals - including human rights defenders, journalists, peaceful protesters, lawyers, opposition politicians, and activists - are still languishing in Egyptian prisons in conditions that violate the absolute prohibition of torture and other forms of treatment. bad practices, simply for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly, without legal basis, or after grossly unfair trials.

Egypt: Lift restrictions on civic space to ensure success of COP27

For #COP27 to be effective, it must be inclusive and participatory.

The extremely poor human rights situation in Egypt threatens to undermine the success of the activism and response to the #climate crisis.

Civil society actors must be able to participate without fear of reprisals.

pic.twitter.com/2OAi4luORB

— Amnesty International (@AmnestyAR) May 25, 2022

In 2013, the Egyptian government passed a controversial law imposing severe restrictions on peaceful protests and demonstrations, which human rights organizations described as a “prevention of demonstrations” law, and Human Rights Watch said that it would “effectively give the police a blank check to ban demonstrations in Egypt".

The organization considered that the law would ban all demonstrations near official buildings, give the police absolute discretion to ban any other demonstration, and allow security forces to disperse mostly peaceful demonstrations by force if even one protester throws a stone.

double standards

In the context of his comment, the former representative of the Human Rights Committee of the Egyptian Parliament, Dr. Ezz El-Din El-Komy, described the decision to allow foreigners to demonstrate "the duplicity typical of the Egyptian regime when it comes to foreigners. I do not expect that Egyptian activists will be allowed to protest, and any protest will be besieged and strongly monitored."

Al-Koumi added in a statement to Al-Jazeera Net that the regime is trying to improve its image abroad, specifically the West, which is well aware of the extent of violations that occur in the length and breadth of the country, but turns a blind eye to them in exchange for preserving its interests in Egypt and the region.

He stressed that Egypt's organization of the conference is in itself a new violation of human rights, as he put it. The Egyptian authorities should not have been rewarded for their bad record in this file by assigning them the presidency of the next session, because they will use it to improve their image before the world.

Political and human rights activists on their social media accounts criticized what they called double standards by the Egyptian authorities, and allowing protests to be held on the sidelines of the upcoming climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh only, while banning and criminalizing it throughout the country.

The human rights crisis in Egypt threatens the chances of success of the climate summit in Sharm El-Sheikh #COP27


https://t.co/JMWkP5nqrD

— Bahey eldin Hassan (@BaheyHassan) May 24, 2022

Associated Press: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry pledges to allow the demonstrations and protests of foreigners that will accompany the climate summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, and says that the Egyptian authorities are only suppressing demonstrations that the government did not allow - no authority has come that despise Egypt and the Egyptians such authority, the Egyptian people in their eyes are the cheapest nationalities

— Jamal Sultan (@GamalSultan1) May 24, 2022

death sentences

Not far from the human rights file in Egypt, Amnesty International said that it recorded 579 executions in 18 countries in 2021, compared to 483 executions recorded in 2020, an increase of 20%.

The organization indicated in a report on Tuesday that most of the known executions were carried out in China, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

According to the organization, Egyptian courts sentenced at least 356 people to death in 2021, an increase of 34%, which is the highest number of death sentences that Amnesty International was able to record worldwide in 2021.

At least 579 executions were carried out in 18 countries last year as it is known, but not a single execution should have been carried out.

The five countries that carried out the most executions were 🥁 #China +1000 #Iran +314 #Egypt +83 #Saudi 65 #Syria +24


For details 👈 https://t.co/mj7ryfxKM0 pic.twitter.com/AS3LpnW2HD

— Amnesty International (@AmnestyAR) May 24, 2022