Help promote human rights in the Middle East and North Africa

Donate Today
Facebook-f Twitter Instagram Linkedin Youtube Envelope
Search
Close
  • English
  • العربية
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • What We Do
    • Who We Are
    • FAQs
    • Support Dawn
    • Work With Us
    • For the Media
  • Founder Jamal Khashoggi
    • Who Was Jamal Khashoggi?
    • Chronology of a Murder
    • UN Recommendations
    • International Reaction
    • In His Own Words
    • DAWN and Jamal
  • Countries
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Egypt
    • UAE
    • Israel-Palestine
    • DAWN's Culprits Gallery
  • Democracy In Exile
    • About
    • Submission Guidelines for Democracy in Exile
  • Advocacy
    • DAWN's Advocacy
    • The Lobbyist Hall of Shame
    • DAWN's Culprits Gallery
    • Reforming Foreign Policy
      • Aid Conditionality
      • Human Rights Go to War
    • US Foreign Policy in MENA
    • Joint Advocacy
  • Experts
  • Latest
Menu
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • What We Do
    • Who We Are
    • FAQs
    • Support Dawn
    • Work With Us
    • For the Media
  • Founder Jamal Khashoggi
    • Who Was Jamal Khashoggi?
    • Chronology of a Murder
    • UN Recommendations
    • International Reaction
    • In His Own Words
    • DAWN and Jamal
  • Countries
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Egypt
    • UAE
    • Israel-Palestine
    • DAWN's Culprits Gallery
  • Democracy In Exile
    • About
    • Submission Guidelines for Democracy in Exile
  • Advocacy
    • DAWN's Advocacy
    • The Lobbyist Hall of Shame
    • DAWN's Culprits Gallery
    • Reforming Foreign Policy
      • Aid Conditionality
      • Human Rights Go to War
    • US Foreign Policy in MENA
    • Joint Advocacy
  • Experts
  • Latest
Donate

Biden Administration Should Not Invoke National Security to Enable Egyptian Abuses

April 24, 2021
in Dawn’s Advocacy, Egypt, Feature, Joint Letters, Uncategorized, US - Egypt
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
An open letter to Secretary Blinken urges the Biden administration to refrain from using the national security waiver on the $300 million in Foreign Military Financing to Egypt for Fiscal Year 2020 that is conditioned on meeting several human rights standards. DAWN joined 13 other organizations to send a clear message that the Egyptian government must be held accountable for its human rights abuses and that it cannot continue to violate human rights standards without consequence.
 
***

The Honorable

Antony J. Blinken
The Secretary of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

Mr. Jake Sullivan
Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20500
April 22, 2021

Dear Mr. Secretary and Mr. Sullivan:

We write to strongly urge the administration not to use the national security waiver on the $300 million in Foreign Military Financing to Egypt for Fiscal Year 2020 that is conditioned on meeting several human rights standards.

We are grateful for the administration's vocal support for human rights and democracy in Egypt. It is heartening to hear repeated statements of concern from the State Department regarding the Egyptian government's repression of civil society and undue restrictions on freedom of expression and the press. In particular, we welcome Secretary Blinken raising these concerns directly with Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry, and telling him that human rights "would be central to the U.S.-Egypt bilateral relationship."

Last month, the State Department's annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices identified a litany of serious violations of human rights by Egyptian authorities. These include consistent attacks on the freedom of expression; violations of the rule of law; extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances; widespread use of arbitrary detention; and politically motivated reprisals against individuals located outside the country.

In response to such abuses, since 2014 Congress has conditioned a portion of the $1.3 billion of annual military aid to Egypt. Unable to certify improvements in Egypt's abysmal human rights record, the two previous administrations have used a national security waiver provided by Congress each year to release the conditioned portion of military aid. By using the waiver, the United States signals that the Egyptian government will not be held accountable for its human rights abuses and that it can continue to violate human rights standards without consequence.

During his campaign for president, then-candidate Joe Biden promised "no more blank checks for Trump's favorite dictator." Overriding the human rights conditions would, on the contrary, continue the pattern of providing "blank checks" to the Egyptian government. This is a genuine opportunity for the administration to put human rights at the center of the relationship.

As the State Department has determined in its annual reports and as numerous human rights organizations have documented, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government has continued its consistent pattern of gross human rights violations, and has not come close to meeting any of the six legislative conditions related to human rights and the rule of law. By refusing to waive these conditions, the United States will send a clear message that it is serious about its commitment to supporting human rights abroad, that it will follow through on its promises, and that respect for human rights is inextricably linked to U.S. national security.

Thank you for your consideration, and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues with you further.

Sincerely,

  • Amnesty International USA
  • Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
  • Committee to Protect Journalists
  • Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)
  • Egyptian Human Rights Forum
  • EuroMed Rights
  • Freedom House
  • Human Rights First
  • Human Rights Watch
  • MENA Rights Group
  • PEN America
  • Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED)
  • Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
  • The Freedom Initiative

In Pictures

Photo Credits: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks about priorities for administration of US President Joe Biden in the Ben Franklin room at the State Department in Washington, DC on March 3, 2021. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Tags: Biden AdministrationEgyptForeign PolicyMiddle East and North AfricaSisi
Previous Post

Why Is Biden Blocking Accountability for the Torture of an American Citizen?

Next Post

DAWN Continues Growth With Addition of Four Key Staff Members

Related Posts

In this photo provided by Ibrahim Almadi to CNN, Saad Ibrahim Almadi sits in a restaurant in an unidentified place, in the United States, on August 2021.
DAWN

Saudi Arabia: Lift Travel Ban on US Citizen Released from Saudi Prison

Saudi Arabia should immediately lift a travel ban it has reportedly imposed on Mr. Saad Almadi,

DAWN
March 21, 2023
An Iraqi woman with her children raise their hands as US soldiers from the 4th Infantry division search their house in Tikrit, 180 Kilometers (110 miles) north of Baghdad, 19 December 2003. US soldiers captured Saddam hiding in a hole at a farm outside his hometown of Tikrit on December 13.         AFP PHOTO/JEWEL SAMAD / AFP PHOTO / JEWEL SAMAD        (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images)
DAWN

'A Never-Ending Cycle of Failures.' The Legacy of the Invasion of Iraq, 20 Years On

(Washington, D.C., March 20, 2023): On the 20th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, DAWN’s journal, Democracy in...

DAWN
March 20, 2023
An Israeli bulldozer demolishes a Palestinian house in the Umm Qasas area of Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank on July 25, 2022. (Photo by MOSAB SHAWER / AFP) (Photo by MOSAB SHAWER/AFP via Getty Images)
DAWN

Israel/Palestine: Hyundai CE Must End Link With War Crimes in Masafer Yatta

(Seoul, March 16, 2023) Hyundai Construction Equipment (Hyundai CE) must take immediate action to prevent its products' involvement in...

DAWN
March 16, 2023
DAWN

DAWN's 2022 Annual Report

DAWN celebrates its second year of achievements, advancements, and growth. We are pleased to share this message from Executive...

DAWN
March 9, 2023
Next Post

DAWN Continues Growth With Addition of Four Key Staff Members

'It's Not Something We Can Leave in the Past.' George Packer on the Iraq War's Long Legacy

March 23, 2023
In this photo provided by Ibrahim Almadi to CNN, Saad Ibrahim Almadi sits in a restaurant in an unidentified place, in the United States, on August 2021.

Saudi Arabia: Lift Travel Ban on US Citizen Released from Saudi Prison

March 21, 2023
An Iraqi woman with her children raise their hands as US soldiers from the 4th Infantry division search their house in Tikrit, 180 Kilometers (110 miles) north of Baghdad, 19 December 2003. US soldiers captured Saddam hiding in a hole at a farm outside his hometown of Tikrit on December 13.         AFP PHOTO/JEWEL SAMAD / AFP PHOTO / JEWEL SAMAD        (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images)

'A Never-Ending Cycle of Failures.' The Legacy of the Invasion of Iraq, 20 Years On

March 20, 2023

Categories

  • Advocacy
  • Aid Conditionality
  • Anonymous Interviews
  • Anonymous Interviews Egypt
  • Anonymous Interviews Saudi Arabia
  • Anonymous Interviews UAE
  • Cases
  • Cases Egypt
  • Cases Saudi Arabia
  • Cases UAE
  • Countries
  • Culprits
  • Culprits Egypt
  • Culprits Israel
  • Culprits Saudi Arabia
  • Culprits UAE
  • DAWN
  • Dawn's Advocacy
  • Democracy In Exile
  • Editor's Pick
  • Egypt
  • Feature
  • Fellows
  • Foreign Policy
  • Human Rights
  • Human Rights Go to War
  • International Actors
  • Israel-Palestine
  • Joint Letters
  • Lobbyists
  • Lobbyists Israel Palestine
  • Palestine
  • Political prisoners
  • Press Release Egypt
  • Press Release Israel-Palestine
  • Press Release Saudi Arabia
  • Press Release UAE
  • Press Releases
  • Saudi Arabia
  • UAE
  • Uncategorized
  • United Nations
  • US – Egypt
  • US – Saudi Arabia
  • US – UAE
  • USA
  • Yemen Conference

SUPPORT OUR MISSION

Donate Today

About Us

Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) is a nonprofit organization that promotes democracy, the rule of law, and human rights for all of the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Support Us

Donate Now

Newsletter

Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin Youtube

© DAWN All rights reserved. | Website Design by KRS Creative.

DONATE TODAY