Opinion: Greenwashing Egypt's human rights record with COP27

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Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is meeting with other world leaders in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, a secluded luxury resort town on the Red Sea, for this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27). In spite of the fact that combating climate change should be everyone’s top priority, the COP27 meeting has drawn criticism due to the human rights and environmental records of its host country. Guilbeault should not shy away from addressing these issues with his Egyptian hosts.

The Egyptian government’s handling of the conference highlights how little respect it has for freedom of speech and peaceful protests. Egypt has limited the ability of activists and environmental groups to gain accreditation and enter the country.

As a platform for African activists to speak up for communities ravaged by drought, floods and resource development projects, COP27 has been dubbed the “African COP.” However, only 20 per cent of African activists have been allowed to take part. Residents of Sharm El Sheikh report that authorities have increased security and harassed them in preparation for COP27. A nationwide call for peaceful demonstrations on Nov. 11 led to the arrest of dozens of protesters.

Egypt also has a terrible track record of protecting the environment. Cairo is one of the most polluted cities on earth. Trees that have been growing for centuries have been uprooted to make way for highways and overpasses.

Meanwhile, the country faces a myriad of other problems. The Nile, Egypt’s primary water source, is in jeopardy as a result of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. It has unprecedented levels of youth unemployment. And the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has threatened Egypt with a serious food crisis.

To appease President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Egypt was chosen to host COP27, but this decision will not make Egypt a leader in environmental policy, and it will not improve the Egyptian economy or its standard of living, which have both been in steady decline since Sisi came to power following the 2013 military coup that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people.

Understandably, a Canadian presence is required to advocate for our environmental vision. But has Ottawa taken any action to tie its involvement to the advancement of human rights, beginning with the release of political prisoners?

Even though many Canadians have been arbitrarily detained in Egypt since 2013, Canada has turned a blind eye to the gross human rights violations documented by human rights groups. Even worse, Canada is attempting to deport an Egyptian human rights activist back to Egypt.

Today, an estimated 60,000 political prisoners are being arbitrarily held in Egypt. Not to mention those who have been subjected to forcible disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Egypt built 78 prisons as of 2021, for which Amnesty International has criticized the country for subjecting detainees to cruel and inhumane conditions, a reality that contradicts the government’s claims of making progress on human rights.

“No amount of PR can hide the country’s abysmal human rights record, that demands real reform from the government,” said Agnès Callamard, the secretary general of Amnesty International.

By agreeing to hold COP27 in Egypt and greenwashing Egypt’s human rights record, the international community made a mistake. However, since it is already happening, Guilbeault should uphold Canada’s longstanding reputation as a defender of democracy and human rights by showing his support for the Egyptian people’s right to express themselves freely and openly. This is the message he should deliver to President Sisi at COP27.

National Post

Samaa Elibyari — a member of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women — and Ehab Lotayef — a poet, writer, community activist and IT Manager at McGill University — are board members of the Egyptian Canadian Coalition for Democracy.