In the run up to the UN Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP27) taking place in Egypt’s resort town of Sharm El Sheikh from 7 to18 November 2022, the undersigned organizations, groups and individuals note with great concern the human rights situation in Egypt and in particular the government’s restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, which risk to undermine a successful, inclusive and participatory climate summit.
Advancing climate justice demands an inclusive, holistic approach to environmental policy that embeds human rights and tackles systemic problems, including historically rooted social injustices, ecological destruction, abuses by businesses, corruption and impunity, and social and economic inequality. The strongest voices across the world pushing back against these systemic problems, and in favor of more meaningful and ambitious climate action, have come from civil society.
We voice our support to the call made by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association: that the work of civil society be recognized, publicly and at the highest levels, as essential to the advancement of climate action and just transition. Moreover, we stress the importance of the right to freedom of expression and independent reporting to foster efforts to address the climate crisis.
We emphasize that effective climate action is not possible without open civic space. As host of COP27, Egypt risks compromising the success of the summit if it does not urgently address ongoing arbitrary restrictions on civil society.
We call on Egypt to ensure that civil society organizations, activists, and communities can meaningfully participate in all discussions and activities on climate and just-transition policy development and implementation at all levels of decision-making without fear of reprisals. Authorities must put in place transparent and inclusive processes to ensure that everyone, including women, Indigenous peoples and local communities, workers, youth, children, persons with disabilities, and other groups facing
marginalization or discrimination, is provided with equal opportunities to effectively participate in climate decision-making.
We also call on Egypt to end the prosecutions of civil society activists and organizations and guarantee space for civil society—including human rights defenders—to work without fear of intimidation, harassment, arrest, detention, or any other form of reprisal, including by releasing of unjustly jailed human rights defenders, lifting arbitrarily travel bans and asset freezes and closing all politically-motivated cases against activists targeted for their human rights work.
Access to information is central to effective participation. To this end, we call on the Egyptian authorities to immediately end the arbitrarily blocking of websites and ensure access inside the country to the hundreds of independent media, human rights organizations and other blocked websites. We also call for the immediate release of all journalists who have been imprisoned solely for doing their job, and an end to restrictions on media and digital spheres.
We recognize that a select number of journalists, human rights defenders, and other individuals who had been arbitrarily detained were conditionally released in recent months. We urge the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all those held simply for peacefully exercising their human rights, implementing criteria set by local NGOs for these releases: fairness, transparency, inclusiveness, and urgency.
Preparations for COP27 are taking place against the backdrop of an ongoing and deep-rooted human rights crisis in Egypt. The Egyptian authorities have for years employed draconian laws, including laws on counter terrorism, cyber crimes, and civil society, to stifle all forms of peaceful dissent and shut down civic space. We note that, under the current government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, thousands continue to be arbitrarily detained without a legal basis, following grossly unfair trials, or solely for peacefully exercising their human rights. Thousands are held in prolonged per-trial detention on the basis of spurious terrorism and national security accusations. Among those arbitrarily detained are dozens of journalists targeted for their media work, social media users punished for sharing critical online content, women convicted on morality-related charges for making Tik Tok videos, and members of religious minorities accused of blasphemy.
Prisoners are held in detention conditions that violate the absolute prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment, and since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi came to power hundreds have died in custody amid reports of denial of healthcare and other abuse. Egypt remains one of the world’s top executioners, executing 107 in 2020 to 83 in 2021, with at least 356 people sentenced to death in 2021, many following grossly unfair trials including by emergency courts. The crisis of impunity has emboldened Egyptian security forces to carry out extra-judicial executions and other unlawful killing, enforced disappearances and torture with no fear of consequences.
The Egyptian authorities must take meaningful steps to address the human rights crisis, including by lifting restrictions of civic space and ending their crackdown on peaceful dissent.
Led by:
- Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE)
- Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
- Committee for Justice (CFJ)
- Egyptian Front for Human Rights (EFHR)
- Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)
- Egypt Wide for Human Rights
- El Nadeem Center Against Violence and Torture
- Refugees Platform in Egypt (RPE)
- Sinai Foundation for Human Rights
- The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF)
- The Freedom Initiative (FI)
- Egyptian Human Rights Forum
Supported by:
Organizations/groups:
- 350 Aotearoa
- AAA Accountancy UK
- AbibiNsroma Foundation ANF
- Access Now
- Aid/Watch
- Amnesty International
- Arab Network for Knowledge about Human rights
- Arayara.org
- Asia Pacific Network of Environment Defenders
- ASSOCIATION DES AMIS DE LA NATURE AAN
- Association des jeunes pour le développement du Ouaddai
- Avli Initiative
- BankTrack
- CADIRE CAMEROON ASSOCIATION
- CAN Latin America
- CAN Tanzania
- CAN-Japan
- Center for Environmental Concerns – Philippines Inc.
- Center for International Environmental Law
- Centre for Citizens Conserving Environment & Management (CECIC)
- Climate & Sustainability
- Climate Justice Alliance
- CNCD-11.11.11
- Coal Action Network Aotearoa
- Coalition Marocaine pour la Justice Climatique (CMJC)
- CODEPINK
- Collectif Sénégalais des Africaines pour la Promotion de l’Éducation Relative à l’Environnement ( COSAPERE)
- Commission on Environment and Climate Justice – International League of Peoples’ Struggle
- Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience
- Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)
- DIGNITY – Danish Institute Against Torture
- Eastbourne Solidarity
- EcoEquity
- Ecologistas en Acción
- Egyptian Americans For Justice
- Emonyo Yefwe International
- Environmental conflict mediation and Women Development
- Environmental Justice Foundation
- Equidad de Genero: Ciudadanía, Trabajo y Familia
- Fastenaktion
- Finnish Development NGOs – Fingo
- FOKUS – Forum for Women and Development
- FORUM DES ENGAGES POUR LE DÉVELOPPEMENT DURABLE
- Forum des Jeunes
- Franciscan Action Network
- Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Friends of the Earth Germany/ BUND
- Friends of the Earth Scotland
- G.R.A.M.E.D
- GAIA – Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives
- Gastivists Collective
- GenderCC-Women for Climate Justice e.V.
- Global Justice Now
- Heinrich Boell Foundation
- Human Rights Without Frontiers
- HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement
- ILPS Commission 10
- Indigenous Peoples’ Organisation-Australia
- International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL)
- International Peace Bureau
- International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
- Kabataan para sa Tribung Pilipino (Katribu Youth)
- Karamoja Go Green
- Klima Action Malaysia (KAMY)
- Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation
- Ligue pour la solidarité congolaise
- Liverpool City Region Climate Justice Coalition
- Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
- Merdeka West Papua Support Network
- Migrante International
- Minority Rights Group International
- Mom Loves Taiwan Association
- NAJU (Youth Association for the Protection of Nature)
- NDEO
- NEW HOPE FOR THE POOR
- North-East Affected Area Development Society (NEADS)
- Observatório do Clima
- Observatory for the Protection of the Environment and Historical Monument
- Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania
- Protection International
- Reacción Climática
- Saharawi Active Youth
- Sankalpa Darchula Nepal, South Asia
- SERUNI
- Sisters of Charity Federation
- Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill
- Somali Youth Development Foundation (SYDF)
- Sukaar Welfare Organization
- The Green Youth Movement (DGUB) (Denmark)
- The Resilient40
- The SANE Collective
- Tipping Point UK
- Transnational Institute
- Tulele Peisa Inc
- UNISC International
- US Committe to End Political Repression in Egypt
- Vikas Adhyayan Kendra
- War on Want
- Water Justice and Gender
- Women Engage for a Common Future
- World Friends for Africa Burkina Faso/ Membership Organiser at CAN West and Central Africa
- World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
- Yorkshire and the Humber Climate Justice Coalition
- Youth for Development and Human Rights Advancement
Individuals:
- Ahti Tolvanen
- Akouete FOLLY QUMEGAWU
- Alia Hammad
- Andreas Moesch
- Aurelie Buytaert
- Basila Maya
- Bed Awa-ao
- Bernard Barré
- Beverley Binfield
- Beverly L. Longid
- Billon
- Bjørn Olav Utvik
- Carmen fulco
- Céline Lebrun Shaath
- Cesar Bollecer Jr
- Chanchana
- Chris Preston
- Chris Vrettos
- Christiane Hildebrandt
- Christina Maria Cecilia M. Sayson
- Christine-Anne
- corinna baudisch
- Daniel Leclerc
- David Jesero
- David Robertson
- Dayoon Kim
- Dr Oye Ideki
- Elle Glenny
- Elondra Eichenberger
- Francesca Biancani
- Francesco Correale
- G. Andrea Teti
- Gabriele Köhler
- Geoffrey Mock
- Gine Zwart
- Hendrik Voss
- Isabelle Sain
- Ivan Hortal Sánchez
- Jeremy Adeba
- John Chalcraft
- Jorge Martínez
- Josh Hughes
- Julia Horn
- Julian Hirschmann
- Kerstin Doerenbruch
- Komla Bassah
- Lenka Hélová
- Lin Patterson
- Lorena Cotza
- Lydia Darby
- Mamadou SYLLA
- Mamta Lukram
- Manuel Leick-Jonard
- Mariam TOURE KEITA
- Marie Lecocq
- Mario Caffera
- Mark Doran
- martin mantxo
- Martin Vilela
- Mehdy BELABBAS
- Melony
- Mia Bradić
- Michael Barkley
- Michael Ineichen
- Michael Taylor
- Michel Vanhoorne
- Mounir Satouri
- Narasimha Reddy Donthi
- Natalie Rivas
- Natasha
- Ndivile Mokoena
- nelia lauper
- Rachel Allen
- Ramy Shaath
- Rosa van Driel
- Roshan Lal
- Salma El Hosseiny
- sarah sakouti
- Shaimaa Elbanna
- Shaon Zeiler
- Shima
- Simone Lennerz
- Sofie Bech Larsen
- Sophie Maziane
- Stephen Crozier
- Steve Ongerth
- Ted Swedenburg
- Veena Balakrishnan
- Yazan Badran
- Yohei Takata
- Christa Salamandra
- Esha Shah
- Hugo Alan
- John Schaefer
- Ron Smith
- Sandra Carter
Read the full list of signatories here. This petition is open for endorsements by organizations, groups and individuals until COP27 in November 2022 and will be updated on the Egyptian human rights coalition on COP27 website.
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