Egypt: President Al-Sisi must reject new asylum law that violates refugees’ rights

President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi must not ratify the new asylum law approved by Parliament, because if passed it would further undermine the rights of refugees in Egypt amid an ongoing crackdown on people seeking protection and safety in the country, Amnesty International said today.

On November 19, 2024, the Egyptian parliament approved the country’s first asylum law, which restricts the right to seek asylum, lacks due process guarantees, and shifts responsibility for registering asylum seekers and of the determination of their refugee status from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). the Egyptian government. The law, which does not explicitly prohibit refoulement, comes in the context of Egyptian police and EU-funded border guard forces carrying out mass arrests and illegal expulsions of Sudanese refugees who have crossed the border Egyptian to shelter from the armed conflict raging in Sudan.

“The Egyptian government must not seek to circumvent its obligations under international human rights and refugee law through domestic legislation that would facilitate further abuses against refugees and asylum seekers. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi must return this deeply flawed law to Parliament for meaningful consultations with the refugee community, human rights organizations and other key stakeholders, before amending the law to bring it into line with the Egypt’s international obligations,” said Mahmoud Shalaby, Egypt researcher at Amnesty International.

“The EU, as Egypt’s close partner on migration, must urge the Egyptian government to introduce amendments ensuring that the human rights of refugees and asylum seekers are protected. To avoid the risk of being complicit in violations against refugees in Egypt, the EU must also ensure that any migration cooperation with Egypt includes human rights guarantees and follows rigorous risk assessments related to human rights on the impact of any agreement.

UNHCR has been registering asylum seekers and conducting refugee status determination in Egypt since 1954, based on a memorandum of understanding with the government. As of October 2024, 800,000 refugees and asylum seekers were registered with the agency, but the government has consistently claimed that the country hosts 9 million refugees, conflating the numbers of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.

Under the law, which was never officially made public and was adopted without meaningful consultations with key stakeholders, the Standing Committee on Refugee Affairs, a committee affiliated with the prime minister and made up of representatives from the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Justice and Finance. , will manage the national asylum system.

The flaws of the new law

The new asylum law defines a “refugee” in accordance with the 1951 Refugee Convention, but otherwise falls well short of Egypt’s obligations under international human rights law and the refugees. The new law allows arbitrary detention of asylum seekers and refugees solely for migration reasons, unduly restricts the right to seek asylum, and allows illegal returns without procedural safeguards. Furthermore, it includes discriminatory provisions restricting the freedom of movement of refugees and asylum seekers and fails to respect their rights to education, housing and social security.

According to the new law, asylum seekers who enter Egypt irregularly must submit their asylum application within 45 days of arrival. This arbitrary deadline does not take into account individual circumstances, such as the availability of legal counsel or access to evidence supporting grounds for asylum; and does not make exceptions for people in vulnerable situations, such as survivors of trafficking or torture. Individuals who are unable to submit their application within 45 days of entering Egypt may be denied the opportunity to apply for asylum and risk imprisonment of at least six months and/or fines. , as well as forced eviction.

The law also incorporates general criteria that would prevent individuals from being granted asylum (called exclusion clauses).

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi must return this deeply flawed law to Parliament for meaningful consultations with the refugee community, human rights organizations and other key stakeholders, before amending the law to bring it into line with the Egypt’s international obligations. Mahmoud Shalaby, Amnesty International

Under the law, people who commit “a serious crime” before entering Egypt can be denied international protection. The law’s failure to exempt “political crimes”, consistent with the 1951 Refugee Convention, can lead to the exclusion of individuals who have been convicted in their home country for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, or for false political activities. -motivated charges. Individuals may also be denied refugee status if they have committed “acts that interfere with national security or public order”, terms that are both vague and overly general, and therefore do not respect the principle of legality. and are susceptible to abuse.

According to the law, failure to respect “undefined values ​​and traditions of Egyptian society” will result in the revocation of refugee status and may lead to expulsion from the country. Participation in “any political or partisan activity, working in trade unions, or establishing, joining or participating in any form of political party” can also result in revocation of refugee status and expulsion from Egypt. .

The law also lacks procedural safeguards throughout the asylum process, such as the right to legal representation, to access information in a language a refugee understands, to meaningfully challenge the legality of their detention and to appeal decisions of a higher court of competent jurisdiction.

Amnesty International’s in-depth analysis of the asylum law can be found here.

Background

Since the start of the conflict in Sudan in April 2023, more than a million people have fled to Egypt, according to the Egyptian government. In May 2023, the Egyptian government introduced an entry visa requirement for all Sudanese nationals, leaving those fleeing with no choice but to escape through irregular border crossings. In June 2023, Egypt’s cabinet of ministers approved a draft law regulating asylum and sent it back to parliament.

Amnesty International has documented how, since September 2023, Egyptian border guard forces under the Ministry of Defense, together with police under the Ministry of Interior, have rounded up and forcibly returned thousands of Sudanese refugees, who were are all denied the opportunity to apply for asylum. , in particular by contacting the UNHCR, or to contest expulsion decisions. The organization has learned from refugee protection actors in Egypt that approximately 18,000 people have been deported from Egypt to Sudan in 2024.

Despite well-documented abuses against refugees, the EU announced in March 2024 a strategic partnership agreement with Egypt aimed, among other things, at deepening cooperation on migration and border control, seeking to prevent departures to Europe.

In October 2022, the EU and Egypt signed an €80 million cooperation agreement, which includes strengthening the capacities of Egyptian border guard forces to combat irregular migration and human trafficking across the Egyptian border. The agreement claims to apply “rights-based, protection-oriented and gender-sensitive approaches”.