As EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travels to Cairo to deliver financial aid to Egypt at the EU-Egypt Investment Conference, Amnesty International is urging the EU to insist on Egyptian human rights reforms as a precondition for the aid.
Photo via G7/UPI |
June 28 (UPI) -- As European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travels to Cairo Saturday to deliver financial aid the EU-Egypt Investment Conference, Amnesty International is urging the EU to insist in Egyptian human rights reform.
The EU will sign a short-term macro-financial assistance package of $1.06 billion designed to bolster the Egyptian economy's resilience. It's part of a larger $7.91 billion EU package to support the Strategic and Comprehensive partnership with Egypt.
Amnesty International joined other human rights organizations in Egypt and around the globe urging the European Union to make sure human rights activists are freed from prison before the financial deal is completed.
"Thousands of people including journalists, critics, opposition politicians, peaceful protesters and human rights defenders are unjustly languishing behind bars, in squalid conditions, for exercising their human rights," said Amnesty International's Eve Geddie, in a statement. "The EU must ensure Egypt releases those arbitrarily detained before proceeding with the deal at hand."
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June 28 (UPI) -- As European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travels to Cairo Saturday to deliver financial aid the EU-Egypt Investment Conference, Amnesty International is urging the EU to insist in Egyptian human rights reform.
The EU will sign a short-term macro-financial assistance package of $1.06 billion designed to bolster the Egyptian economy's resilience. It's part of a larger $7.91 billion EU package to support the Strategic and Comprehensive partnership with Egypt.
Amnesty International joined other human rights organizations in Egypt and around the globe urging the European Union to make sure human rights activists are freed from prison before the financial deal is completed.
"Thousands of people including journalists, critics, opposition politicians, peaceful protesters and human rights defenders are unjustly languishing behind bars, in squalid conditions, for exercising their human rights," said Amnesty International's Eve Geddie, in a statement. "The EU must ensure Egypt releases those arbitrarily detained before proceeding with the deal at hand."
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She said the assistance package is one of the most expensive financial deals the EU has ever signed off on with non-EU nation.
If there is no human rights precondition, Geddie said, the EU would be breaking its own rules.
Fifteen Egyptian and international human rights organizations joined Amnesty in calling for the human rights reforms as a condition of Egypt receiving the aid.
The EU announcement Friday of von der Leyen's role at the conference made no mention of human rights reforms, only of "human capital" as one among many financial considerations to be covered at the weekend Cairo conference.
Von der Leyen will deliver the opening speech for the conference Saturday along with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
The Egypt-EU Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership signed in March includes everything from political relations to economic stability, migration and security.
Roughly 1,000 people will participate in the conference, including senior officials from the EU and Egypt across a wide range of sectors.
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