Joint NGO Letter on Egypt:  ْUrgent Call for the OHCHR to Investigate Mass Graves and Widespread Extrajudicial Executions of the Indigenous Population in the Sinai Peninsula

 High Commissioner Volker Turk,

Strong evidence has emerged that implicates the Egyptian government and its military and security forces in the commission of war crimes and potential crimes against humanity, and which requires immediate action by your office. 

Detailed investigations by the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights (SFHR), backed by compelling analysis independently undertaken by Forensic Architecture, have uncovered a mass grave of human remains, alongside new incidents of extrajudicial executions of civilians, including indigenous persons of the Sinai Peninsula, during the nearly decade-long non-international armed conflict that took place there between 2013 and 2022.  Along with this letter we are communicating these investigative reports. 

The evidence speaks for itself.  Satellite imagery,  on-site footage, field visits, excavations, and extensive eyewitness testimony, including from individuals who worked alongside Egyptian security forces, depict what appears to be a methodical practice of enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention followed by  torture and the extrajudicial execution of detainees.    

The Egyptian Constitution prohibits extrajudicial executions, including under Article 55, which provides that: “Anyone who is arrested, detained, or has their freedom restricted must be treated in a manner that preserves their dignity, and may not be subjected to torture, intimidation, or coercion.”  Yet despite the gravity of these allegations, the Egyptian government has steadfastly refused to launch an investigation.  To date not a single individual within Egypt’s security forces or government has been held to account for any violations of human rights and humanitarian law committed against the civilian population of the Sinai Peninsula. The government’s approach on this issue reflects its broader campaign of forced displacement and repression targeting the local indigenous Bedouin population within the area.  

For  years, SFHR along with other human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International,  have documented cases of extrajudicial killings carried out by the Egyptian army and police against detainees, including children, in Sinai. The authorities have often  falsely claimed these individuals were killed in shootouts. 

In the interest of ensuring accountability for these crimes and deterring further violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, we urge you and your office to take immediate action to open an investigation into the serious abuses and violations by security forces, including extrajudicial killings, in Sinai,  and communicate your office’s concern regarding the evidence that has been collected to date.   If the Egyptian government commits to launch an effective and transparent investigation into these incidents, we ask that the OHCHR immediately begin a process  to ensure Egypt’s adherence to the Manual on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, as published by your office. 

We stand ready to provide further information, and would welcome a meeting to discuss this matter with you and your office in the coming period. 

Signatories:

Sinai Foundation for Human Rights (SFHR)

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF)

El Nadeem Center

Committee for Justice (CFJ)

Refugees Platform in Egypt 

Egyptian Human Rights Forum

Egyptian Front for Human Rights (EFHR)

EgyptWide for Human Rights