But a conflict that followed the event illustrates what resistance human rights activists must face: According to one Washington Post report, Egyptian legislator Amr Darwish stood up and shouted at Seif. “You are here to summon foreign countries to put pressure on Egypt.” He continued to berate her until UN security escorted him out, the newspaper reported.
Organizations operating in Egypt have to deal with limited funding, harassment and difficult conditions to hold peaceful protests and press conferences. Some fear for their lives and are essentially forced into exile. “Egypt is not the best place to host the COP, because of the repressive nature of the COP,” said Ubrei-Joe Maimoni Mariere, a Nigerian environmental activist with Friends of the Earth Africa, a non-profit group. Egyptian government. he said. Instead of sitting at a beautiful resort, he argued, such a meeting would be held in a place where many people live with the effects of climate change, such as polluted water and heat waves.
On Friday, US President Joe Biden scheduled to speak with el-Sisi, and was supposed to press him on human rights issues in the country. Egypt has been a close US ally since the 1980s and is one of the top recipients of military aid from the US, Russia, France and Italy. At Tuesday’s event, Seif essentially called for a reduction in aid. “Those weapons will be used against us. You really have to re-imagine your foreign policy towards Egypt, because it is creating a problem here,” she said.
Bahgat, an Egyptian human rights campaigner, points out that the situation for activists has worsened significantly since the coup that brought el-Sisi – a former general – to power. Ten years ago, after Arab Spring culminating in the downfall of then-president Mubarak, he said, people felt empowered. His organization supported a community in western Egypt who, after being displaced by a nuclear power plant, held a sit-down, demanding their land be returned or compensated. equally. Finally, after that protest and a press conference, the government created a compensation plan. “I am telling you this story because every aspect of it is unthinkable today,” he said.
“The general crackdown that Human Rights Watch has witnessed is also impacting environmental groups, some very directly and others in more subtle and nuanced ways, in a sense. Some of these groups and activists self-censor and do not engage in certain actions and discussions. Katharina Rall, an environmental researcher with the group, said. The unwelcome environment for protesters was evident before the COP27 summit began, when an Indian activist, Ajit Rajagopal, began a lengthy march, Rall said. 8 days from Cairo to Sharm el-Sheikh, but already arrested by Egyptian security forces on November 6. He was released the next day, but the message was clear.
The next UN climate summit, COP28, will be held in the United Arab Emirates in November 2023. That government also fully documented as one suppress regime. But one key message has emerged since COP27, Bahgat said: “There is no climate justice without human rights.”
Additional reporting by Gregory Barber.
