Essays by Eric Worrall
Who would have thought that a dictator was accused frequent mass human rights violations will be accused of spying on delegates and interfering in human rights events?
‘Inaccurate, inaccurate, ridiculous’: Egypt dismisses accusations of spying at climate talks as distraction
Via Nick O’Malley
November 15, 2022 — 6:30 amSharm el Sheikh: A senior Egyptian official has denied allegations of covert surveillance being deployed against dissidents at the COP27 climate talks, suggesting these allegations presented as an act of political diversion.
German media have reported that the German government complained that Egyptian security agents were said to have monitored and filmed events held at the German pavilion inside the summit venue. in Sharm el Sheikh, while Reuters reported that the German federal police had warned their delegates that they might be being watched by security agents from the host country.
Some of the German-hosted events at the COP were more concerned with human rights than climate change, and the German Press Agency reported that Egyptian officials took photos and videos and disrupted the proceedings at least. at least twice.
“We hope all participants of the United Nations climate conference can work and negotiate under safe conditions,” the German foreign ministry said in a statement. “This is true not only of the Germans, but also of all delegations, as well as representatives of civil society and the media.”
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Al Jazeera also accused Egypt of advertising a spyware event application;
‘Weaponized app’: Is Egypt spying on the phones of COP27 delegates?
Security analysts warn a smartphone app for climate talks in Sharm el-Sheikh could be used for spying as it has ‘highly intrusive’ access to locations points, conversations and pictures.
Via Beatrice Zemelyte
Published on November 12, 202212 November 2022Cybersecurity concerns were raised at the UN’s COP27 climate talks over an official smartphone app that is supposed to have full control over places, private conversations. fourth and photo.
About 35,000 people are expected to attend the two-week climate conference in Egypt, and the app has been downloaded more than 10,000 times on Google Play, including by officials from France, Germany and Canada.
The Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology developed the application for the delegates of the summit.
David Bader, an expert in data science and cybersecurity, told Al Jazeera.
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I’m sure spying scandals are nothing new to COP conference events. My question is, why has this suddenly become a public issue?
Perhaps Germany did not like the Egyptian regime and provoked a provocative response from Egypt through a principled decision to highlight Egypt’s alleged human rights problems.
But there is a small but intriguing possibility that delegates may be maneuvering to blame Egypt for COP27’s failure to produce a meaningful climate agreement, as part of efforts to reduce climate change. blame for the failure and perhaps for destabilizing the el-Sisi regime.
Egyptian dictator Abdel Fattah el-Sisieven though allegations of mass human rights violations, is an ally of the United States. I am not a fan of el-Sisi, unfortunately successive US administrations seem to find it geopolitically necessary to support el-Sisi of Egyptbecause they supported Hosni Mubarak before him.
But if el-Sisi is toppled, US interests in the region could face a significant setback. Other countries may see the chaos as an opportunity to increase their influence in the region.
Despite continued US support, the el-Sisi regime may be vulnerable. A clear rise in allegations of human rights abuses over the past few years could be a sign that he is losing power.
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