(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 23 May 2001 ARTICLE 19 letter to European Union (EU) Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten The Rt Hon Chris Patten, CH Commissioner for External Relations Rue de la Loi 200 1049 Brussels Belgium By fax: +32 2 298 12 99 23 May 2001 Dear Commissioner We welcome […]
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 23 May 2001 ARTICLE 19 letter to European Union (EU) Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten
The Rt Hon Chris Patten, CH
Commissioner for External Relations
Rue de la Loi 200
1049 Brussels
Belgium
By fax: +32 2 298 12 99
23 May 2001
Dear Commissioner
We welcome your commitment to reinvigorating the Barcelona Process and your particular interest, expressed in January this year, in making more effort to promote respect for human rights and democratic freedoms in the Mediterranean region. I am writing to express ARTICLE 19’s serious concern about the concerted attack on freedom of expression and independent organisations in Egypt, in breach of its agreements with the EU. We urge you to take concrete steps to monitor and report on these breaches, to communicate your concerns to the Egyptian authorities and, where and when appropriate, to suspend co-operation under the relevant agreements.
The seven-year jail sentence handed down this week to human rights activist Saad El-Din Ibrahim, in part for receiving funding from the European Union without permission, symbolises the Egyptian Government’s flouting of its international and constitutional obligations regarding freedom of expression. Other recent examples of this trend include the case of writer Salah al-Din Mohsen, sentenced in January of this year to three years’ imprisonment with hard labour, the confiscation or withdrawal from circulation of a number of publications, and proposals to introduce new criminal restrictions on the content of what may be published.
We believe that the European Union has ample grounds for action, including for breach of the Barcelona Declaration, Article 7 of the MEDA Framework Convention, which the Egyptian Government signed in February 1998, and Article 2 of the bilateral Association Agreement between Egypt and the EU, initiated on 26 January 2001. The latter notes that relations between the parties shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which constitute an essential element of the Agreement.
We are concerned at the lack of any systematic means of ensuring respect for these obligations, although we note that the European Commission issued an explanatory note on Ibrahim’s case in December 2000 and the European Union stated today that it was “disturbed and concerned” about the sentence. To redress this problem, we respectfully request that the following concrete measures be taken:
* regular monitoring of human rights in the 12 Mediterranean states included in the Barcelona Process, taking into account input from civil society;
* publication of the results of these monitoring exercises, including recommendations for future action;
* implementation of concrete programmes to promote human rights, based on the recommendations noted above, and any other relevant recommendations of the EU and international human rights bodies;
* maintaining a flow of demarches on both individual cases and systematic patterns of human rights violations; and
* suspension of co-operation under agreements, where and when appropriate.
I look forward to hearing your views on these important matters at your earliest convenience.
Yours sincerely
Andrew Puddephatt
Executive Director
*Joint statements on this case and related matters issued by ARTICLE 19 and other non-governmental organisations are on our website at www.article19.org/docimages/712.htm, www.article19.org/docimages/746.htm and www.article19.org/docimages/845.htm.
cc Javier Solana, Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union / High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy. By fax: +32 2 285 53 53.
cc Peter Zangel, Director of the European Commission Middle East and Southern Mediterranean Directorate. By fax: + 32 2 296 6612.
Recommended Action
Similar appeals can be sent to:
The Rt Hon Chris Patten, CH
Commissioner for External Relations
Rue de la Loi 200
1049 Brussels
Belgium
Fax: +32 2 298 12 99
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
