The Committee for Justice (CFJ) has participated in the interactive dialogue under Item 3 on March 6, 2025, with the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, during the 58th regular session of the Human Rights Council.
In its intervention, CFJ highlighted the dangerous situation faced by human rights defenders in Egypt’s Sinai region, where they endure severe restrictions, constant surveillance, and acts of retaliation — particularly those documenting violations committed under the pretext of counter-terrorism operations.
CFJ also pointed out that the militarization and closure of Sinai had led to widespread violations, including arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and collective punishment of local communities.
CFJ further emphasized the systematic targeting of human rights defenders across Egypt, citing specific cases such as Esraa El-Rouby, who was arrested in July 2023 and subjected to enforced disappearance, and Ahmed Amasha, a lawyer who remains in prolonged pretrial detention and suffers from ill-treatment.
In conclusion, CFJ called on the UN Special Rapporteur to closely monitor the situation of human rights defenders in Egypt and urged the Human Rights Council to ensure the Egyptian authorities are held accountable for the severe violations targeting activists and human rights defenders in the country.
