Home west asia Israel Ignoring Human Rights Issues, U.S. Grants Egypt $ 1.3 Billion Military Aid

Ignoring Human Rights Issues, U.S. Grants Egypt $ 1.3 Billion Military Aid

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress on Wednesday he would waive a certification requirement on $225 million related to Egypt's human rights record this year, citing "U.S. national security interests."
Egypt gets $1.3 billion in US military aid despite human rights concerns
File photo of Egyptian soldiers on the border between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip September 3, 2013. (Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/REUTERS)

The Biden administration is overriding human rights conditions on military aid to Egypt, granting the U.S. ally its full allocation of $1.3 billion this year for the first time.

Washington has relied heavily on Cairo – a longstanding U.S. ally – to mediate so far unsuccessful talks between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza.

Of the $1.3 billion in U.S. foreign military financing allocated to Egypt, $320 million is subject to conditions that have meant at least some of that sum has been withheld in recent years.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress on Wednesday that he would waive a certification requirement on $225 million related to Egypt’s human rights record this year citing “the U.S. national security interest.”

“This decision is important to advancing regional peace and Egypt’s specific and ongoing contributions to U.S. national security priorities, particularly to finalize a ceasefire agreement for Gaza, bring the hostages home, surge humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in need, and help bring an enduring end to the Israel-Hamas conflict,” the State Department spokesperson said.

Cairo has remained a close regional ally of Washington despite accusations of widespread abuses under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government, including torture and enforced disappearances.

Sisi denies there are political prisoners in Egypt. He says stability and security are paramount and authorities are promoting rights by trying to provide basic needs such as jobs and housing.

The war in Gaza, sparked by the October 7 attacks by Palestinians militants on southern Israel, has increased Washington’s reliance on Cairo for diplomatic efforts like the ceasefire talks. Much needed humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza also enters from Egypt.

Nitin A Gokhale WhatsApp Channel

Blinken issued a similar same waiver on the human rights conditions last year but withheld a portion of the military aid over Egypt’s failure to make “clear and consistent progress” on the release of political prisoners.

This year, Blinken determined that Egypt had made sufficient efforts on political prisoners to release $95 million tied to progress on the issue, the spokesperson said.

They cited Egypt’s effort’s to draft legislation to reform pre-trial detention and the broader penal code, its release of some political prisoners and a move to end travel bans and asset freezes associated with foreign funding for non-governmental organizations.

Rights groups have questioned how effective the draft legislation on pre-trial detention would be for ending abusive practices and say some human rights lawyers remain under travel bans.

Seth Binder, director of advocacy for the Washington-based Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC), said that while about 970 prisoners had been released since last September, at least 2,278 Egyptians were arbitrarily arrested over the same period, according to data collected by MEDC and Egyptian human rights groups.

“There’s no reasonable assessment where one could say there’s been progress on the human rights situation in Egypt. It remains a huge crisis,” he said, pointing to the tens of thousands of political prisoners still held in the country.

The State Department spokesperson said Washington was continuing “a rigorous dialogue with the Egyptian government on the importance of concrete human rights improvements that are crucial to sustaining the strongest possible U.S.-Egypt partnership.”
(REUTERS)

Previous articleMalaysia Rescues 400 Minors Abused At Islamic Charity Homes
Next articleAnti-War Protesters Attack Police, Visitors At Melbourne Defence Expo
In a career spanning over three decades and counting, I’ve been the Foreign Editor of The Telegraph, Outlook Magazine and The New Indian Express. I helped set up rediff.com’s editorial operations in San Jose and New York, helmed sify.com, and was the founder editor of India.com.

My work has featured in national and international publications like the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, Global Times and The Asahi Shimbun. My one constant over all these years, however, has been the attempt to understand rising India’s place in the world.

On demand, I can rustle up a mean salad, my oil-less pepper chicken is to die for, and depending on the time of the day, all it takes to rock my soul is some beer and some jazz or good ole rhythm & blues.

Talk to me about foreign and strategic affairs, media, South Asia, China, and of course India.