Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the Egyptian government on Tuesday to revise the draft of the new asylum bill, known as the Law Regarding the Asylum of Foreigners (LRAF), and urged the government to consult with civil society and the United Nations (UN) Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to ensure that the bill aligns with international standards. The organization argued that the current version of the law doesn’t comply with Egypt’s obligations under international law and would increase the risk of further violations of the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in the country.
HRW criticized the proposed LRAF for not involving rights groups and the UNHCR during the drafting which has resulted in multiple loopholes and ambiguities in what constitutes Egypt’s first asylum law. The organization highlighted specific flaws in the new law that violate Egypt’s commitments under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the 1969 African Refugee Convention. These flaws include the use of broad and vague criteria that could lead to the exclusion of individuals from asylum or the cancellation of their refugee status. Additionally, the law denies refugees the right to participate in political or union activities, lacks procedural safeguards for asylum seekers such as the right to legal representation and the ability to challenge the legality of detention, and criminalizes irregular migration, which contradicts Article 31 of the 1951 Refugee Convention.
HRW also added that although the proposed law recognized basic refugee rights, such as the right to health care, education, freedom of movement and provision of documentation, it includes several exceptions to refugee status that are not aligned with those mentioned in the UN Refugee Convention and the African Refugee Convention. The broadening of these exceptions could increase the risk of arbitrary denial or withdrawal of asylum by the country’s officials.
Furthermore, HRW criticized the new bill’s creation of a new government committee, the “Permanent Committee for Refugee Affairs”, which will be responsible for refugee-related issues and cooperation with international organizations such as the UNHCR as required under Article 35 of the UN Refugee Convention. According to HRW, the creation of this national regulatory body will hinder the work of UN agencies.
HRW’s refugee and migrant rights researcher Lauren Seibert asserted that the proposed asylum bill will ” only worsen the gaps in protection and risks facing refugees and asylum seekers. The government should heed the calls from civil society to revise this legislation in line with international standards”.
Egypt’s asylum bill was approved by the Parliament in November 2024 and was ratified by the President on Tuesday. The implementation of this new legislation was deemed necessary to respond to the increasing migration crisis that Egypt has experienced since the armed conflict in Sudan began in 2023. The Sudanese conflict has displaced over 10 million people and Egypt is currently hosting over 1.2 million of these refugees. The government has received criticism from international rights groups such as Amnesty International regarding its handling of the Sudanese refugee crisis. The same organization criticized the proposed asylum bill and urged the government to reject it due to human rights concerns.
