Egypt: President al-Sisi must reject new asylum law which violates refugee rights

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi must not ratify the new asylum law approved by parliament, which, if enacted, would further undermine refugee rights in Egypt amid the ongoing crackdown on people seeking protection and safety in the country, Amnesty International said today.

On 19 November 2024, Egypt’s parliament approved the country’s first asylum law, which restricts the right to seek asylum, lacks due process guarantees and shifts the responsibility for registering asylum seekers and determining their refugee status from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to the Egyptian government. The law, which does not explicitly prohibit refoulement, comes against the backdrop of Egyptian police and the EU-funded Border Guard Forces carrying out mass arrests and unlawful deportations of Sudanese refugees who crossed into Egypt seeking safety from the raging armed conflict in Sudan.  

“The Egyptian government must not seek to bypass its obligations under international human rights and refugee law with domestic legislation that would facilitate further abuses against refugees and asylum seekers. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi must return this deeply flawed law to parliament for meaningful consultations with the refugee community, human rights organizations and other key stakeholders, before amending the law to bring it in line with Egypt’s international obligations,” said Mahmoud Shalaby, Amnesty International’s Egypt Researcher.

“The EU, as close partner with Egypt on migration, must urge the Egyptian government to introduce amendments ensuring that the human rights of refugees and asylum seekers are protected. To avoid the risk of being complicit in violations against refugees in Egypt, the EU must also ensure that any migration cooperation with Egypt includes human rights safeguards and follows rigorous human rights risk assessments on the impact of any agreements.”

The UNHCR has been registering asylum seekers and conducting refugee status determination in Egypt since 1954, based on a memorandum of understanding with the government. As of October 2024, 800,000 refugees and asylum seekers were registered with the agency, but the government has consistently claimed that the country hosts 9 million refugees, conflating the numbers of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.

Under the law, which was never officially made public and was adopted without meaningful consultations with key stakeholders, the Permanent Committee for Refugees’ Affairs, a committee affiliated with the prime minister and formed of representatives from the foreign affairs, interior, justice and finance ministries, will run the national asylum system.

Flaws in the new law

The new asylum law defines a “refugee” in line with the 1951 Refugee Convention, but otherwise falls far short of Egypt’s obligations under international human rights and refugee law. The new law allows for the arbitrary detention of asylum seekers and refugees solely on migration grounds, unduly restricts the right to seek asylum, and enables unlawful returns without procedural safeguards. Further, it includes discriminatory provisions restricting refugees’ and asylum seekers’ freedom of movement, and fails to fulfil their rights to education, housing and social security.

According to the new law, asylum seekers who enter Egypt irregularly are required to submit their asylum applications within 45 days of their arrival. This arbitrary time limit fails to consider individual circumstances, such as the availability of legal counsel or access to evidence supporting the grounds of asylum; and does not make exceptions for people in vulnerable situations, such as survivors of trafficking or torture. Individuals unable to submit their claims within 45 days of entering Egypt can be denied the possibility to seek asylum, and risk imprisonment for at least six months and/or fines, and forcible removal.

The law also incorporates broad criteria that would exclude individuals from being granted asylum (known as exclusion clauses).

Under the law, individuals who committed “a serious crime” before entering Egypt can be denied international protection. The law’s failure to exempt “political crimes”, as per the 1951 Refugee Convention, can lead to the exclusion of individuals who were convicted in their countries of origin for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, or on bogus politically-motivated charges. Individuals may also be denied refugee status if they have committed “any acts that interfere with national security or public order,” terms that are both vague and overly broad, and therefore do not meet the principle of legality and are open to abuse.

Under the law, the failure to respect undefined “values and traditions of Egyptian society,” will lead to refugee status being revoked and can lead to removal from the country. Participation in “any political or partisan work, work in syndicates, or the founding, joining, or participating in any form of political parties” can also result in the revocation of refugee status and removal from Egypt.

The law also lacks procedural safeguards throughout the asylum process, such as the right to legal representation, to access information in a language a refugee understands, to meaningfully challenge the legality of one’s detention, and to appeal decisions by a competent higher tribunal.

Amnesty International’s in-depth analysis of the asylum law can be found here.

Background

Since the conflict in Sudan erupted in April 2023, over a million people fled for Egypt according to the Egyptian government. In May 2023, the Egyptian government introduced a visa entry requirement for all Sudanese nationals, leaving those fleeing with little choice but to escape through irregular border crossings. In June 2023, Egypt’s cabinet of ministers approved a bill regulating asylum, and referred it to parliament.

Amnesty International has documented how since September 2023, Egypt’s Border Guard Forces operating under the Ministry of Defence, as well as police operating under the Ministry of Interior have rounded up and forcibly returned thousands of Sudanese refugees, who were all denied the possibility to claim asylum, including by accessing UNHCR, or to challenge deportation decisions. The organization learned from refugee protection actors in Egypt that an estimated 18,000 individuals were deported from Egypt to Sudan in 2024.

Despite well-documented abuses against refugees, the EU announced in March 2024 a strategic partnership agreement with Egypt to, among other things, deepen cooperation over migration and border control, seeking to prevent departures to Europe.

In October 2022, the EU and Egypt signed an €80 million cooperation agreement, which included building up the capacity of Egyptian Border Guard Forces to curb irregular migration and human trafficking across Egypt’s border. The agreement purports to apply “rights-based, protection oriented and gender sensitive approaches.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.