Egypt rejects reports of stifling environment activism

By AP 13 September 2022, 2:18 pm Edit

FILE - This photo shows a dry land that was once fertile and green, in Second Village, Qouta town, Fayoum, Egypt, August 8, 2020. The Middle East is the most water-scarce region in the world. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

Egypt, the host of this year’s upcoming UN-led climate conference, is rejecting reports by a rights group saying that authorities in the Middle East country are stifling environment activism as part of a broader crackdown on dissent.

According to the report by Human Rights Watch, the Egyptian government’s restrictions amount to a violation of basic human rights and throw into question its ability to meet basic climate commitments.

The report was based on interviews with more than a dozen academics, scientists and activists. The global COP27 summit will take place in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh in November.

Egypt’s foreign ministry says that the report was misleading and that its publishing was “counterproductive.”