Egypt summons EU reps over human rights comments

In reaction to statements issued on Tuesday regarding Egypt’s human rights record at a UN conference in Geneva, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the European Union’s ambassadors to Cairo.

The ambassadors were called back to clarify their “double standards” on terrorism and human rights in Egypt, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday.

Representatives of the EU at the United Nations’ Human Rights Council (UNCHR) in the Swiss city of Geneva stated, “The EU continues to be worried about the deteriorating situation in Egypt, marked by indiscriminate detentions and disproportionate sentencing, including the death penalty.”

The statement expressed particular concern over, “reports of torture in detention centers and sexual assaults on female detainees, adding, “the EU is further alarmed by the situation of human rights defenders and NGOs.”

The EU member states reiterated that, while freedom of expression is enshrined in the Egyptian Constitution of 2014, such rights must be protected and upheld. They called for democracy, transparency and the accountability of Egypt’s state institutions, while simultaneously encouraging open investigations into the mass killings of protesters at the hands of the country’s police and security forces.

The statement concluded by acknowledging “the serious challenges faced by the country” in terms of security, both domestically and regionally, while adding, “The EU calls on the Government of Egypt to fully respect human rights standards, including in the implementation of counter-terrorism measures.”

In its rebuttal, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry argued that the country is facing extraordinary conditions.

According to a statement issued on the Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s Facebook page, Minister Sameh Shoukry spoke of European “double standards” in addressing international human rights. He alluded to a “lack of objectivity” from European states, who he maintained are concerned with the threat of global jihad and counter-terrorism efforts, yet criticize Egypt’s efforts to deal with them.

Shoukry added that European states “express concern regarding the condition of human rights in Egypt, yet ignore the clear increase in the number of martyrs amongst the ranks of the Armed Forces, police and civilians,” which he claimed is the work of local and regional terrorist networks.

The Foreign Ministry also expressed surprise regarding foreign criticism of Egypt’s judiciary and verdicts against terrorists, the Facebook statement added, using the example of the Rabea sit-in dispersal last year, which it claims was an unlawful and “armed assembly,”  and that the “first martyrs in this incident were the police.”

According to official state figures, 595 protesters and 43 policemen were killed during the Rabea al-Adaweya dispersal, with Human Rights Watch (HRW) putting the figures closer to 817 protesters and eight police fatalities.

HRW’s Executive Director Kenneth Roth claimed the dispersal was “one of the world’s largest killings of demonstrators in a single day in recent history.”

On August 11 this year, Roth and another HRW executive were denied entry into Egypt via Cairo airport.