The Committee for Justice (The CFJ) submitted a detailed report on the human rights situation in Egypt, which was accepted during the proceedings of the NGOs Forum held alongside the 83rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which took place in Banjul, Gambia from 28 to 30 April 2025.
The report, which was discussed and adopted by the Forum, noted that Egypt is a party to several international and African human rights treaties, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and is therefore legally bound to respect and implement these obligations. Nevertheless, serious human rights violations continue to occur, calling for urgent action from relevant authorities.
The report expressed grave concern over Egypt’s new asylum law, which imposes discriminatory barriers against refugees and asylum seekers and threatens to expose them to the risk of refoulement, in violation of the 1951 Refugee Convention.
The report also highlighted ongoing violations of fundamental freedoms, including arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, unlawful detention, and harassment of human rights defenders, journalists, political activists, and opposition voices. It emphasized that such practices severely restrict citizens’ rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, and threaten the existence of an independent and free civil society.
In addition, the report pointed to deteriorating conditions inside Egyptian prisons, including severe overcrowding, lack of adequate healthcare, and continued incidents of torture and inhuman treatment, which in some cases have led to deaths or serious illnesses among detainees.
In a special section addressing workers’ rights, the report documented increasing violations against the working class in Egypt, including arbitrary dismissals, suppression of labor strikes, arrest of trade union activists, and increased security surveillance over labor activities.
At the conclusion of its report, The CFJ called upon the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to adopt an official decision urging the Egyptian authorities to repeal or amend restrictive laws, including the new asylum law.
The CFJ also demanded an end to arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and torture; improvement of detention conditions; respect for freedom of expression and the press; cessation of harassment against civil society; protection of workers’ rights; permission for peaceful strikes; and full compliance with international human rights laws and standards.
Furthermore, The CFJ encouraged the African Commission to dispatch a fact-finding mission to Egypt to assess the human rights situation, including detention conditions, restrictions imposed on civil society, and the treatment of refugees and migrants.