On November 19, 2024, the Egyptian House of Representatives approved a draft law on asylum. The draft law aims at regulating the process of asylum and refugee status in Egypt. To become a law, the parliament will refer the draft law to the President of the Republic for ratification. Then, it will be published in the official gazette.
The draft law is considered the first legal instrument that regulate asylum and refugee status in Egypt’s history. The purpose of the draft law to align Egypt’s refugee’s policies with the 1951 Refugee Convention, of which Egypt is a member. It grants priority to asylum and refugee status applications submitted by foreign nationals who are persons with disabilities, the elderly, pregnant women, unaccompanied children, or victims of human trafficking, torture, or sexual violence.
Refugees in Egypt
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 800,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UNHCR in Egypt as of October 2024. Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has said the number of refugees in the country is estimated to be 8 to 9 million. According to Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, most refugees in Egypt reside in five governorates, Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Dakahlia, and Damietta. The number of Sudanese refugees is estimated at 4 million, while there are an estimated 1.5 million Syrians, 1 million Yemenis, and 1 million Libyans.
Content of the Draft Law
The draft law proposes the establishment of a national regulatory body called the Permanent Committee for Refugee Affairs (PCRA). The role of the PCRA will be to regulate the legal residency status of asylees and refugees in the country. Its headquarters will be located in Cairo, and it will collaborate with the UNHCR and other intentional organizations to provide services and support to refugees and asylees.
The draft law defines the term “refugee” as
Any foreigner who is outside the country of their nationality or usual residence, due to a reasonable reason based on a serious and justified fear of being persecuted because of race, religion, nationality, or belonging to a particular social group or because of political opinions, or because of external aggression or occupation, or other events that seriously threaten public security in the country of their nationality or the country of their usual residence, and is unable or unwilling, due to serious fear, to seek protection from that country.
The draft law reportedly permits foreign nationals who are interested in applying for refugee status and asylum, or their legal representatives, to submit applications to the PCRA for review. The draft law grants the PCRA a period of six months to review the applications submitted by asylum seekers who entered Egypt legally, and one year to review the applications of those who entered the country illegally.
According to the Al-Ahram newspaper, foreign nationals who obtain the refugee status through fraudulent means or violate national security or public order will be stripped of their legal residency status and deported.
The draft law requires foreign nationals who acquire asylee or refugee status to adhere to the principles of the Egyptian Constitution, to comply with Egypt’s laws, and to respect Egyptian tradition. It also prohibits asylees or refugees from engaging in political activity, joining any political party, or working for trade unions.
Reactions to the Draft Law
Members of the Egyptian Parliament have endorsed the draft law. For instance, Ali Mahran, a member of the Egyptian senate has said the draft law is an important step to providing full protection to refugees and asylees in Egypt, including guaranteeing their right to obtain public services such as education and health care.
On the other hand, Egyptian human rights organizations, such as the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, criticized the draft law. They argued it was drafted without stakeholder input, and that it would transfer processing of refugees from the UNHCR to the PCRA, which lacks training requirements and operating procedures that adhere to the international legal framework regulating protections for asylees and refugees.
George Sadek, Law Library of Congress
November 22, 2024
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