The human rights situation in Egypt as an insecure host state of refugees

Abstract

This dissertation is an assessment of the human rights situation in general, which directly affects the inability of refugees to enjoy their rights. They are deprived not only of the basic refugee rights granted to refugees according to both international and regional human rights instruments but also their basic rights as human beings including the rights to life, fair trial and bodily integrity Egypt's human rights record is poor although both legal and judicial systems are strong and progressive. Refugees in Egypt in general and Sudanese in particular are having many challenges in their hvehhood m fulfilling their basic needs like education, medical care, personal security, work and even basic legal procedures like marriage contracts and access to judicial system. These challenges are main factors that Egypt is not the right host state for refugees as it does not guarantee the basic rights as there is no legislation related to refugees. Refugees fall under the Foreigners Law which in some provisions is contradictory to the 1951 Convention Relating to the status of Refugees. Also, an evaluation of the role of UNHCR as a guarantor of the protection of refugees but it was incapable of intervening in the confrontations between refugees and Egyptian security. These confrontations led to hundreds of detailed and dozens of killed refugees especially the last attack on refugees in December 2005, an example of insecurity of refugees in Egypt.