The Committee for Justice (CFJ) said that UN mechanisms and their reports are an effective tool for exerting pressure on authoritarian regimes in order to reduce repression against populations. It pointed out that these reports highlight serious human rights violations, provide international cover enabling victims to claim their rights, and link their suffering to global decision-making institutions, thus creating a space of political and moral pressure that such regimes cannot ignore without paying a high price at the international level.
In the context of ongoing efforts to monitor the human rights situation in Egypt, the United Nations Committee Against Torture published on May 16, 2025, a follow-up report assessing the extent to which Egyptian authorities have implemented the recommendations issued by the Committee following the review of Egypt’s fifth periodic report in November 2023. The report is part of the Committee’s regular follow-up process aimed at evaluating the compliance of State parties with their obligations under the United Nations Convention Against Torture.
The follow-up report focused on three main urgent recommendations previously issued by the Committee to Egyptian authorities in November 2023. It concluded that Egypt has not taken any tangible steps or substantial reforms to implement any of these recommendations even after a full year has passed since they were issued.
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Counter-Terrorism and the State of Emergency
The Committee noted in its report that laws continue to be applied which expand the powers of security agencies and public prosecutors, despite the official cancellation of the state of emergency in 2021. Among these laws are Law No. 94 of 2015 on Combating Terrorism, Law No. 8 of 2015 on Terrorist Entities, and the proposed new Criminal Procedure Law, which the Committee found does not address existing problems related to the protection of defendants’ rights but rather reinforces them.
The Committee confirmed that the Egyptian authorities have not taken any substantive measures to address the issues related to this point.
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Conditions of Detention
The Committee also reiterated that detention conditions inside prisons and security centers remain poor, including severe overcrowding, lack of hygiene, insufficient food and medical care, and inadequate ventilation — all of which contradict the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners adopted by the United Nations.
It further pointed to the continued use of prolonged pre-trial detention, especially in politically motivated cases, and highlighted how it is being misused as a means to keep political opponents in custody for long periods without trial, in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Committee also condemned discriminatory practices in the application of amnesty decisions or conditional release, noting that most of those released tend to be detainees held in ordinary criminal cases, while political detainees remain detained without clear legal justification.
The Committee emphasized that the measures taken by Egyptian authorities are insufficient and that no detailed information has been provided regarding how these issues are being addressed.
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Death Penalty
The Committee expressed deep concern over the continued use of the death penalty in Egypt and the expansion of crimes punishable by it, including political, terrorism-related, and drug-related offenses, whereas international standards limit its use only to the “most serious crimes.”
The Committee also noted that Egypt has not undertaken any substantial legislative reform aimed at reducing the number of crimes punishable by death or introducing strict judicial safeguards to prevent arbitrary executions, nor has it acceded to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which aims at the complete abolition of the death penalty. The Committee concluded that the Egyptian authorities have not provided any information on plans to reform legislation related to this punishment, and there are no indications of genuine political will to bring about real change in this area.
The Committee confirmed that no meaningful measures have been taken by the Egyptian authorities to address the issues raised under this key point.
At the end of the report, the UN Committee Against Torture expressed deep regret that Egypt did not provide any detailed information or clear plans for implementing the recommendations, a fact that reflects a lack of seriousness in responding to international observations and concerns, and undermines the credibility of the country’s commitment to international human rights standards.
It is worth noting that the CFJ contributed directly to the work of the UN Committee Against Torture by submitting a follow-up report one year after Egypt’s file was reviewed by the Committee on November 19, 2024. This report included a detailed analysis of the shortcomings in the Egyptian authorities’ response, focusing on the three main points highlighted by the UN Committee. The findings of the UN Committee’s report largely confirm the observations raised by the CFJ its own submission.