In collaboration with English PEN, PEN International is holding a Side Event on the 18th of September (3-4pm UK, 4-5pm Geneva) during the 54th HRC session to highlight the dire condition of human rights and freedom of expression in Egypt and to prompt the international community to bring human rights concerns to the centre of their bilateral and multilateral fora with Egypt.

Twelve years ago, the Egyptian Revolution brought hope for democracy and respect for human and civil rights. This hope was quickly crushed in Egypt, and the situation only worsened. Since President Al-Sisi seized power in 2014, the country has slipped into an unprecedented human rights crisis, where scores of journalists, human rights defenders, activists, writers, poets, and bloggers have been arbitrarily arrested, detained for prolonged periods without trials, and faced trumped-up charges solely in relation to their work or critical views. Writers, poets, and journalists have been specifically targeted in an effort to silence them and spread a climate of fear.