| Mohamed Abdel Salam, AFTE’s Executive Director, met today with Mounir Satouri, Chair of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights, and the accompanying delegation during the European Parliament Delegation’s visit to Egypt. The meeting took place as part of the ongoing dialogue between independent human rights organizations and Members of the European Parliament.
During the meeting, Abdel Salam highlighted the continued restrictions imposed on independent civil society organizations, particularly the obstacles preventing them from accessing foreign funding to support their work. He stressed that these administrative and security restrictions severely undermine civil society’s ability to operate and provide essential services to the public.
Abdel Salam also addressed the ongoing violations of the right to freedom of expression, with particular emphasis on the escalating crackdown on women’s digital expression under the pretext of protecting “Egyptian family values,” underscoring the widening gap between the government’s human rights rhetoric and the reality on the ground.
He further emphasized that civil society organizations play a vital role in preserving prospects for meaningful political and economic reform by representing diverse communities and their demands, as well as by proposing alternative public policies and draft legislation that can support the executive and legislative authorities in addressing persistent shortcomings in Egypt’s human rights framework. |
