Urgent Appeal from International Civil Society
1 February, 2011
We, civil society organizations from across the world, strongly urge all governments, as well as regional and international organizations, to clearly and unequivocally denounce the ongoing violent crackdown against the public protests and demands for democratic reform and government accountability that have been occurring across Egypt since the 25th of January.
The Egyptian government has responded to protests with excessive force. This has included wide-spread use of beatings, arbitrary detentions and the use of rubber bullets and allegedly live ammunition against unarmed civilians, resulting in over a hundred deaths. Moreover, a state imposed black-out on national cell phone services, the internet and independent media channels was put in place on the 28th of January, making it very difficult for Egyptians to report any abuses occurring. On that same day the Egyptian government began to deploy military forces in supplement of internal security forces.
With the strong risk that repression, violence and instability in Egypt could escalate to unprecedented levels in the coming days, it is critical that individual governments from all regions of the world urgently exert strong and concerted pressure on the Egyptian government to curb human rights abuses.
We call on the United Nations, its Member States and regional bodies to condemn the serious and widespread human rights violations carried out by the Egyptian authorities against civilians throughout the country. The international community must remind the Egyptian government of its international human rights obligations, urge it to fully respect the rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of movement and freedom of expression, and support the demands of the Egyptian people for the holding of free and fair elections and the ending of the decades long State of Emergency law which has been used to enforce authoritarian rule.
Signatories:
Action for People’s Democracy (Thailand)
The African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS)
The Africa Democracy Forum (ADF)
Ain O Salish Kendra (Bangladesh)
Aitzaz Ahsan and Associates, Advocates and Attorneys(Pakistan)
Alkarama Foundation (Switzerland)
Angikar Bangladesh Foundation (Bangladesh)
Article 19
Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization
Asian Citizen’s Center for Environment and Health-South Korea (ACCEH)
Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), the Philippines
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC)
Asia Monitor Resource Centre- Hong Kong (AMRC)
Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE)
Bahrain Centre for Human Rights
The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
Cambodian Center for Human Rights
Centre for Independent Journalism (Malaysia)
Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales- CELS (Argentina)
Center for Health and Social Change- South Korea (CHSC)
Centre for Legal Awareness and Support (India)
Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR), the Philippines
CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen Participation
The Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR)
Collectif des Familles des Desparus en Algerie
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)
Committee to Support Imprisoned Workers (South Korea)
Community Legal Aid Institute, (Indonesia)
Community Resource Centre- Thailand (CRC)
Conectas Direitos Humanos (Brazil)
DAGA Center for JustPeace in Asia (Thailand)
Damascus Centre for Human Rights
Democracy Coalition Project (DCP)
Democratic Workers’ Solidarity (South Korea)
The East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRP)
Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research, Inc.- Philippines (EILER)
Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EURMED)
Federation of Independent Trade Union- Indonesia (GSBI)
Franciscans International (Switzerland)
Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT)
Friends of Women (Malaysia)
Human Rights Agenda (Nigeria)
Human Rights First (USA)
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
Imagination for International Solidarity- South Korea (IFIS)
Information & Culture Nuri for Disabled Koreans (South Korea)
International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF)
International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
Jagaran Media Center- Nepal (JMC)
Janasansadaya (Sri Lanka)
Japan Occupational Safety and Health Resource Center
JINBONET (South Korea)
Justice for Peace Foundation (Thailand)
Korea Center for United Nations Human Rights Policy- South Korea (KOCUN)
Korean Federation of Medical Groups for Health Rights- South Korea (KFHR)
Korean House for International Solidarity- South Korea (KHIS)
Lawyers for Liberty (Malaysia)
The Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH)
Maldives Democracy Network (Maldives)
MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society (South Korea)
Muntada – Arab Forum for Sexuality Education and Health (Palestine)
Network of Accessible Environments for All (South Korea)
Open Society Foundations
The Other Media (India)
Palestine Peace Solidarity of South Korea (South Korea)
Partnership for Justice (Nigeria)
People’s Health Movement (USA)
Peoples Training & Research Centre (India)
Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (Malaysia)
PILIPINA Legal Resources Center (Philippines)
RightOnCanada.ca
River, indigenous people and human rights watch Arunachal (India)
Sisters’ Arab Forum for Human Rights (Yemen)
Sisters in Islam (Malaysia)
Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination- South Korea (SADD)
Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea (South Korea)
Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
Thai Labour Campaign
Triumph International Thailand Labour Union (TITLU)
Try Arm Underwear – Self-Managed Worker Cooperative (Thailand)
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
U.S. Campaign for Burma
Vikash (India)
VISION (Pakistan)
Western African Human Rights Defenders Network (WAHRDN)
Women’s Aid Organization (Malaysia)
Women for Women’s Human Rights – New Ways (Turkey)
The World Organization Against Torture (OMCT)
World Student Christian Federation Asia Pacific (Hong Kong)
The World Without War (South Korea)
Zi Teng (Hong Kong)
