EuroMed Rights has declined the invitation received from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to take part in the regional conference on “Defining and Criminalizing Torture in Legislation in the Arab Region” to be held on 4-5 September 2019 in Cairo, Egypt.
In an open letter addressed to UN High Commissioner, Ms Michelle Bachelet, EuroMed Rights expresses its deep reservations about the decision to hold this conference in Egypt, a country where torture is systematically practised by the security forces, and in collaboration with the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights, which acts under the auspices of the government.
The letter recalls that detainees and prisoners in Egypt are frequently subjected to abuses which amount to torture, including electric shocks, beatings, suspension by limbs and rape. Read full letter here