Summary
- Egypt’s Law Regarding the Asylum of Foreigners omits protections including legal representation, ability to challenge detention, which departs from Article 31 of the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Egypt passed its first legislation, Law Regarding the Asylum of Foreigners, regulating refugee and asylum affairs this month amid much concern and opposition from human rights groups and UN independent experts. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi signed the draft bill into law on December 17, almost a month after the parliament approved it in what was described as a “rushed process” that lacked meaningful consultation with the UN Refugee agency and civil society groups.
The new law fails to guarantee Egypt’s full compliance with its international legal commitments towards respecting and protecting the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, according to national and international human rights groups. The UN special rapporteurs addressed a letter to the Egyptian government prior to the law's ratification, highlighting its insufficient adherence to international human rights standards.
Egypt ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention, its complementing 1967 Protocol, and the1969 Organization of African Unity (OAU) Convention. The legal framework governing refugees and asylum seekers is guided by these international conventions and by the MOU signed between the Egyptian government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1981 which provided the system by which the UNHCR determined the status of refugees in Egypt in collaboration with the Egyptian government, namely the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior. The new law essentially replaces this system with a national mechanism spearheaded by a newly established committee that undertakes the role of receiving, registering, examining, and deciding on refugee and asylum applications.
The new legislation has been criticized for its inadequate protections for the affected group, as it fails to establish a clear transitional process for individuals whose asylum requests are still under review or those already registered with the UNHCR. Additionally, it grants the Committee executive powers that exceed accepted international practice and undermine the protections afforded to refugees and asylum seekers. The law also does not explicitly provide asylum seekers with proper interim protection including access to justice and due process rights. Moreover, it broadens the grounds for denying or revoking refugee status and imposes restrictions on rights and freedoms guaranteed to refugees and asylum seekers under international law.
Since the law has already entered into force, human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) have urged international partners and civil society to exert pressure on the Egyptian government to bring the law in alignment with international standards. There is hope that the forthcoming bylaws would clarify loopholes regarding the transitional period as well as introduce a monitoring and evaluation system for the work of the new committee.
Egypt hosts close to 800,000 registered refugees with most refugees being from Sudan followed by Syria, as of October according to the UNHCR. The actual number of refugees is likely higher as the official figures do not include unregistered refugees and asylum seekers.