Following the 4th cycle of the Universal Periodic Review, Algeria informed the Human Rights Council of its decision to accept 215 out of the 290 recommendations it had received. We call on Algerian authorities to implement these recommendations. We further call on Algeria to reconsider its stance on the recommendations that were merely noted, especially those pertaining to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, the prohibition of torture, counterterrorism and judiciary independence.
During the adoption of the Algeria Universal Period Review outcomes, Algerian human rights defender Kaddour Chouicha spoke directly to the Human Rights Council on behalf of MENA Rights Group, the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), CIVICUS, Euromed Rights and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies. He addressed the ongoing crackdown on human rights defenders and civil society organisations.
MENA Rights Group joins 20 rights organisations in condemning Egyptian authorities' imposition of a deadline for all NGOs to register in accordance with the draconian 2019 NGO law. We call on Secretary Blinken to urge Egypt to withdraw the deadline.
MENA Rights Group joins 7 human rights NGOs in sending an open letter to Boeing in light of their latest commercial deals with Saudi Arabia, calling on the latter to lift travel bans on human rights activists.
During the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, MENA Rights Group, Right Livelihood and ALQST for Human Rights spoke during the debate on human rights situations that require the Council’s attention. More specifically, we shed light on the increasing repression of human rights defenders and peaceful dissidents in Saudi Arabia.
MENA Rights Group joins a coalition of civil society organisations in calling on Egyptian authorities to drop the charges against three Mada Masr journalists in the context of a crackdown on independent media.
MENA Rights Group joins 8 organisations in urging the Iraqi Communications and Media Commission to withdraw a leaked draft Regulation that threatens digital freedom of expression in Iraq.
MENA Rights Group is joined by 16 human rights organisations in urging the Tunisian government not to extradite human rights defender Zakaria Hannache to Algeria, where he may face human rights abuses such as torture. Hannache is protected from refoulement by his refugee status, and the UN Committee against Torture has reiterated the Tunisian authorities' obligation to respect his international protection.
MENA Rights Group joined 30 human rights organisations in signing a solidarity statement with arbitrarily detained Egyptian poet Galal El Behairy, who recently went on hunger strike. We urge the international community to pressure the Egyptian authorities into immediately and unconditionally releasing him.
On International Women's Day, MENA Rights Group joined 7 organisations in calling for the end of male guardianship in Saudi Arabia, which is particularly codified by the Personal Status Law.
MENA Rights Group joined 21 human rights organisations in urging parliamentarians to publicly raise concerns on the state of political freedom and human rights in Bahrain during the Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in March. We issued a set of recommendations for the Bahraini government to undertake.
MENA Rights Group joins five human rights organisations in launching a campaign in solidarity with detainees in the UAE. The SANID campaign, which stands for "Stand Up for UAE Detainees", began on March 1, 2023, and calls on Emirati authorities to release all prisoners of conscience.
