Time for Egypt to join the ICC

Egypt is one of the focuses of our Campaign for Global Justice this month (along withVietnam).

CALL ON EGYPT TO JOIN THE ICC!

Leila Hanafi, Coalition for the ICC Middle East & North Africa (MENA) regional coordinator:

“The ongoing transitional justice process in Egypt is reigniting a crucial debate among transitional justice advocates as to the role that the ICC can play in delivering justice and redress to victims of grave crimes.”

In a letter to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, we recognized some of the promising steps taken by Egypt in the past two years, including several statements of intent to join the ICC. Egypt also amended its penal code to include some of the crimes found in the ICC Rome Statute.

Notably, Egypt will be under assessment by the Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council this month. By committing to join the ICC, Egypt can signal that it takes its obligations to protect human rights seriously.

Mahmoud Farouk, executive director of the Egyptian Center for Public Policy Studies:

“The commitment to accountability for any crimes that have violated the rights and freedoms of citizens cannot be overlooked. Thus, the country can move forward and learn from periods of repressions that the Egyptian people have endured for more than half a century.”

Only two states from the MENA region—Jordan and Tunisia—have ratified the Rome Statute and joined the fight to end impunity. Egypt should be the third.

CALL ON EGYPT TO JOIN THE ICC!

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