Thirteen mandate holders under the Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council sent a joint communication to the Egyptian Government, expressing recurring concerns regarding Egypt’s counter-terrorism laws, policies and practices and their compatibility with international human rights law. The communication also provides a cumulative account of recurring patterns identified in individual cases and thematic issues, and assesses the extent to which previously raised concerns remain unaddressed. In this context, the experts frame their concerns within relevant observations issued by UN human rights mechanisms, including treaty bodies and working groups, as well as recommendations that Egypt has accepted or noted during cycles of the Universal Periodic Review.
The signatories include the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights; the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; the Special Rapporteur on the right to education; the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression; the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; the Special Rapporteur on the right to health; the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living and on the right to non-discrimination in this context; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons; and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
The UN experts noted that they had sent around 60 communications to Egypt over the past 14 years, raising concerns regarding the application of the counter-terrorism framework. The latest communication brings together the main patterns of concern raised in previous communications and the Egyptian Government’s responses to them. It is noteworthy that a number of these communications were based on documented information submitted by the Egyptian Front for Human Rights to the relevant Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups.
In this comprehensive communication, the experts and mandate holders made the following recommendations to the Egyptian Government:
1. Overbroad terrorism definition and offences
Recommendation 1: Egypt should review Law No. 94 of 2015 on Combating Terrorism and related counter-terrorism provisions, including the definition in article 2 and offences concerning “joining,” “supporting,” or “promoting” terrorist entities, to ensure that terrorism offences are clearly and precisely defined in accordance with the principle of legality, are strictly limited to conduct that is genuinely terrorist according to best practice international standards on definition outlined above, and do not infringe human rights, including freedoms of expression and the media, peaceful assembly and association.
2. Arbitrary arrest and prolonged pre-trial detention
Recommendation 2: Egypt must ensure that arrest and detention in counter-terrorism cases fully comply with international human rights law. Pre-trial detention must be exceptional, strictly necessary and proportionate, and must not be prolonged beyond what is strictly required. It must not be used as a punitive or preventive measure in the absence of conviction. Individuals must have prompt and confidential access to legal counsel, the prompt and effective opportunity to challenge the lawfulness of their detention, and access to effective judicial review. Any use of administrative security detention must be consistent with international standards, including as regards the grounds, procedures, judicial safeguards and remedies.
3. Enforced disappearance
Recommendation 3: Egypt should ensure that no person is subjected to enforced disappearance or secret detention in the context of counter-terrorism operations. All arrests must be officially recorded from the outset; detainees must be brought promptly before a judicial authority; families must be informed immediately of the place of detention; and access to legal counsel must be guaranteed from the moment of deprivation of liberty. Allegations of enforced disappearance must be investigated promptly, independently, impartially, thoroughly and effectively, and those responsible must be held accountable. Egypt should also become a party to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 2006.
4. Torture, ill-treatment and inadequate detention conditions
Recommendation 4: Egypt should ensure that no person is subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in the context of counter-terrorism investigations or detention. All allegations of torture or ill-treatment must be investigated promptly, thoroughly and independently, consistent with articles 2(3) and 7 of the ICCPR, the Convention against Torture, and the Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Istanbul Protocol). Any statement obtained through torture or coercion must be excluded from proceedings. The right to effective remedy must be guaranteed and victims must receive reparation, including compensation. Conditions of detention must comply with international standards, and detainees must receive adequate and timely medical care.
5. Case recycling / case “rotation” and circumvention of release orders
Recommendation 5: Egypt must ensure that judicial decisions ordering release are promptly and fully implemented, and that no person is subjected to renewed deprivation of liberty through the opening of successive terrorism-related case files based on substantially similar allegations and violation of the prohibition on double jeopardy. Pre-trial detention must not be extended through “rotation” practices that circumvent statutory limits or undermine judicial oversight. Any new investigation or detention must be based on genuinely distinct factual grounds and subject to effective independent judicial scrutiny and full respect for due process.
6. Emergency laws, exceptional courts and fair trial
Recommendation 6: All terrorism-related prosecutions must fully comply with international fair trial standards. Civilians should not be tried before exceptional or special courts that do not guarantee independence, impartiality and fair trial. Defendants must have adequate time and facilities to prepare a defence, full and confidential access to legal counsel, access to complete case files, the opportunity to challenge all evidence relied upon by the prosecution, and full rights of appeal. Any statement obtained under torture or ill-treatment must be excluded from proceedings. Criminal responsibility must be judged on an individual basis, and speedy mass trials are likely to jeopardize the presumption of innocence. Where severe penalties, including long-term imprisonment or capital punishment, are at stake, strict adherence to the highest standards of due process is required.
7. Death penalty
Recommendation 7: All proceedings involving the death penalty must stringently comply with all elements of the right to a fair trial and be determined before independent and impartial civilian courts. Mass trials before special courts should be avoided. The death penalty must be limited to the “most serious” terrorist crimes involving intentional killing, and the terrorist purpose elements of offences must be defined precisely and narrowly in accordance with international standards. Egypt should urgently consider implementing a moratorium on the death penalty with a view towards its abolition, in line with international practice.
8. Terrorist designations
Recommendation 8: Egypt’s terrorism designation laws and procedures must satisfy the high substantive grounds and standard of proof for listing, and ensure due process, judicial protection and effective remedies under international human rights law (A/HRC/16/51, para. 35 and A/80/284, paras. 17-39). Any restrictive measures imposed must be strictly necessary and proportionate and be applied on an individual basis. Listings must not operate as substitutes for criminal conviction absent full due process guarantees. Listings must also not be used to sanction or stigmatise individuals for the peaceful exercise of their rights, whether domestically or transnationally.
9. Reprisals and targeting of individuals for cooperation with the United Nations
Recommendation 9: Egypt must ensure that no individual is subjected to arrest, prosecution, travel restrictions, asset freezes, or any other measure, including counter-terrorism measures, for cooperating with United Nations mechanisms or exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, to take part in public affairs, and their rights as human rights defenders. Counter-terrorism legislation must not be used as a tool of intimidation or reprisal, whether domestically or transnationally.
10. Impact of counter-terrorism measures on children
Recommendation 10: Egypt should ensure that counter-terrorism legislation and practice fully comply with its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The arrest and detention of minors must be strictly exceptional, used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time. Children must have prompt access to legal assistance and family contact, be detained in facilities appropriate to their age, and benefit from specialised juvenile justice procedures. Counter-terrorism provisions should not be applied to children in cases involving non-violent conduct in a manner that undermines their rights, dignity, or prospects for reintegration.
11. Impact of counter-terrorism measures on women
Recommendation 11: Egypt must ensure that counter-terrorism measures are gender responsive and do not directly or indirectly discriminate against women, including human rights defenders, or unduly restrict their human rights and participation in public life. In particular, the Government should: (a) ensure that women are not subjected to arbitrary detention, including through the repeated renewal of pretrial detention without individual justification; (b) prioritize gender-sensitive non-custodial and diversionary measures, in accordance with the Bangkok Rules; and (c) ensure that detention conditions respect women’s dignity and needs, including protection from sexual and gender-based violence, and access to gender-responsive health care, legal assistance, and family contact.
12. Political inclusion, civic space and conditions conducive to terrorism
Recommendation12: Recalling Pillar I of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (A/RES/60/288), Egypt should ensure that counter-terrorism measures are applied strictly to conduct involving genuine acts of terrorism and are not used to restrict legitimate freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, or association, the right to take part in public affairs, and civic space. The Government should also strengthen safeguards to ensure equality before the law and non-discrimination in the application of counter-terrorism frameworks, and promote inclusive governance, meaningful participation in public affairs, equitable development, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, consistent with the ICCPR and the Sustainable Development Goals.
13. Serious violations in North Sinai, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, torture, forced displacement, property destruction and other violations
Recommendation 13: Egypt should independently investigate reports of mass graves, identify the victims and ensure their dignified treatment, notify their families, and provide accountability. Allegations of enforced disappearances and unexplained deaths should also be investigated and those responsible held accountable, including by searching for those forcibly disappeared and informing their families. All places of detention must be disclosed, and persons detained in North Sinai must be systematically registered, allowed prompt access to legal counsel and family members, and brought promptly before a judicial authority. Other alleged violations must also be investigated, including torture, property damage and appropriation, forced displacement, interference with the right to education and children’s rights, movement restrictions as well as cultural rights. Given the scale of the alleged violations, a comprehensive independent inquiry and accountability process addressing all aspects of the conflict appears to be necessary. Egypt should also reform its counter-terrorism, security and emergency laws and procedures in North Sinai to ensure that they are consistent with international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
14. Effective remedies, oversight and accountability
Recommendation 14: Egypt must ensure the right to an effective, binding remedy for violations of human rights and humanitarian law, before an independent and impartial body. Alleged violations must be investigated in line with international standards. Remedies for violations must include full reparation, including adequate compensation, rehabilitation and satisfaction, and steps to prevent re-occurrence in future. Egypt should also establish a comprehensive system of internal and external oversight of counter-terrorism measures and actors, including by independent and effective civilian institutions, and ensure that counter-terrorism laws and powers are periodically reviewed for compliance with international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and refugee law.
The experts called on the Egyptian Government to provide information and comments on these concerns and to indicate the steps it has taken or intends to take to address them and ensure that counter-terrorism practices are consistent with Egypt’s international human rights obligations. They noted that the Egyptian Government has responded to around one third of the 60 communications sent to it over the past 14 years, but the experts considered that some of the responses had not fully addressed the structural or systemic concerns raised.
At the end of the communication, the experts also encouraged Egypt to invite the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism to conduct a follow-up visit, noting that his last official visit to Egypt took place in 2009.