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The United States has approved most of its military aid to Egypt despite persistent concerns about human rights. This was revealed by the US State Department head Secretary of State Antony Blinken
The United States has approved most of its military aid to Egypt despite persistent concerns about human rights. This was revealed by the US State Department head Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The US$1.215 billion package marks the third consecutive year that President Joe Biden’s administration has waived certain congressional restrictions on aid to Egypt. It may be recalled that Biden has pledged to put human rights at the heart of US foreign policy. What could have gone in favour of Egypt is it is a crucial voice in efforts to advance regional peace and security, notably between Israel and the Palestinians or in neighbouring Sudan and Libya.
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Egypt has been one of the main beneficiaries of US military aid since its historic decision to become the first Arab state to normalize relations with Israel in 1980. The latest military aid package includes US$980 million which was unrestricted. Conversely, some US$235 million were conditional on progress on human rights.
Egypt has thousands of political prisoners. The Presidential Pardons Committee has released a thousand of them in a year, but three times as many were arrested at the same time, according to NGOs.
