President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi must not ratify the new asylum law approved by parliament, which, if enacted, would further erode refugee rights in Egypt amid the ongoing crackdown on individuals seeking protection and safety in the country, Amnesty International stated today.
On 19 November 2024, Egypt’s parliament approved the country’s first asylum law. The law restricts the right to seek asylum, lacks due process guarantees, and transfers the responsibility for registering asylum seekers and determining their refugee status from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to the Egyptian government. Notably, the law does not explicitly prohibit refoulement and comes against a backdrop of Egyptian police and EU-funded Border Guard Forces conducting mass arrests and unlawful deportations of Sudanese refugees fleeing the ongoing 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 organisations 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 a close partner of Egypt on migration, must urge the Egyptian government to introduce amendments ensuring 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 regarding the impact of any agreements.”
The UNHCR has been registering asylum seekers and conducting refugee status determinations 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. However, the government has consistently claimed that the country hosts nine million refugees, conflating the numbers of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants.
Under the law, which was never officially published and was adopted without meaningful consultations with key stakeholders, the Permanent Committee for Refugees’ Affairs, a body affiliated with the prime minister and comprising representatives from the ministries of foreign affairs, interior, justice, and finance, will oversee the national asylum system.
Flaws in the New Law
The new asylum law defines a “refugee” in accordance with the 1951 Refugee Convention but otherwise fails to meet Egypt’s obligations under international human rights and refugee law. It permits 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. Additionally, it includes discriminatory provisions limiting refugees’ and asylum seekers’ freedom of movement and fails to guarantee their rights to education, housing, and social security.
According to the new law, asylum seekers entering Egypt irregularly must submit their asylum applications within 45 days of arrival. This arbitrary time limit does not account for individual circumstances, such as access to legal counsel or evidence supporting asylum claims, and fails to make exceptions for vulnerable individuals, such as survivors of trafficking or torture. Those unable to submit claims within the 45-day window risk imprisonment for at least six months and/or fines, as well as forcible removal.
The law also incorporates broad exclusion criteria, denying asylum to individuals who committed “a serious crime” before entering Egypt. Its failure to exempt “political crimes,” as stipulated in the 1951 Refugee Convention, risks excluding individuals convicted in their home countries for exercising freedoms of expression, association, or peaceful assembly, or on fabricated political charges. Refugee status may also be denied to those accused of acts that “interfere with national security or public order,” vague terms open to misuse.
Moreover, the law provides for revoking refugee status and deportation for failure to respect undefined “values and traditions of Egyptian society” or participation in “political or partisan activities,” including joining political parties or syndicates.
Throughout the asylum process, the law lacks procedural safeguards such as the right to legal representation, access to information in a language the refugee understands, the ability to challenge detention, and the right to appeal decisions before a competent tribunal.
Background
Since conflict erupted in Sudan in April 2023, over a million people have fled to Egypt, according to the Egyptian government. In May 2023, Egypt introduced visa requirements for Sudanese nationals, forcing many to use irregular border crossings. By June 2023, Egypt’s cabinet of ministers approved the asylum bill, which was subsequently referred to parliament.
Amnesty International has documented how, since September 2023, Egypt’s Border Guard Forces and police have rounded up and forcibly returned thousands of Sudanese refugees without allowing them to seek asylum or challenge deportation decisions. Refugee protection actors estimate that approximately 18,000 individuals were deported from Egypt to Sudan in 2024.
Despite documented abuses, the EU announced a strategic partnership agreement with Egypt in March 2024, aiming to enhance migration and border control cooperation. An €80 million agreement signed in October 2022 included provisions for building the capacity of Egypt’s Border Guard Forces to curb irregular migration, ostensibly using rights-based and protection-oriented approaches.
