Egypt Launches Platform on Human Rights Conditions

Egyptian deputy of the human rights committee in parliament, Margaret Azer  (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Egyptian deputy of the human rights committee in parliament, Margaret Azer (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

Egypt Launches Platform on Human Rights Conditions

Egyptian deputy of the human rights committee in parliament, Margaret Azer  (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Egyptian deputy of the human rights committee in parliament, Margaret Azer (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Egypt launched a trilingual platform that provides information on the human rights conditions in the country.

The portal includes a database of all local, regional and international information about human rights, announced the State Information Service (SIS), adding that it is meant to promote a correct understanding of human rights, taking into consideration the economic, social, cultural and political aspects.

SIS also indicated that it will use the portal to confront attempts to politicize human rights’ conditions in the country.

The platform is part of a broad media activity being carried out to achieve Egypt's goals in promoting and spreading the culture of human rights, according to SIS chairman Diaa Rashwan.

Egyptian deputy of the human rights committee in parliament, Margaret Azer told Asharq Al-Awsat that the new platform will use evidence to respond to “suspicious” organizations trying to politically exploit human rights issues in Egypt.

It will also respond to the questions and reports of international organizations on conditions in Egypt.

In March, Cairo responded to the US State Department's annual report on the human rights situation in the world in 2018, saying it was “not objective” and makes unsubstantiated claims about the state of human rights in the country.

Egypt has repeatedly asked Human Rights Watch (HRW) to be accurate about its human rights reports.



Türkiye Continues Strikes on PKK in Iraq, Syria Despite Ocalan Call 

Syrian Kurds hold flags as they gather after Türkiye’s jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down its arms, in Hasakah, Syria February 27, 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Kurds hold flags as they gather after Türkiye’s jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down its arms, in Hasakah, Syria February 27, 2025. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Continues Strikes on PKK in Iraq, Syria Despite Ocalan Call 

Syrian Kurds hold flags as they gather after Türkiye’s jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down its arms, in Hasakah, Syria February 27, 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Kurds hold flags as they gather after Türkiye’s jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down its arms, in Hasakah, Syria February 27, 2025. (Reuters)

Türkiye’s armed forces have killed 26 Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria in the week after jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan's disarmament call, the defense ministry said on Thursday.

Ocalan last week called on his outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to lay down its arms and dissolve, and the militant group declared an immediate ceasefire on Saturday.

"The Turkish Armed Forces will continue its operations and search-scanning activities in the region for the survival and security of our country," the defense ministry spokesperson told a weekly press briefing.

"(It) will continue its fight against terrorism with determination and resolve until there is not a single terrorist left," the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson Zeki Akturk said the PKK militants had been "neutralized" in Iraq and Syria, without specifying where the incidents took place. The ministry's use of the term "neutralized" commonly means killed.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Türkiye and its Western allies, said it was ready to convene a congress, as Ocalan urged, but the necessary security conditions should be established for him to "personally direct and run" it.

The Syrian Kurdish YPG, the spearhead of the key US ally against ISIS in Syria that Ankara views as an extension of the PKK, has said Ocalan's message did not apply to them.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday Türkiye would continue operations against the PKK if the group's process of disarmament is stalled or promises are not kept.

Erdogan's ruling AK Party spokesman Omer Celik said all Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria, including the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), must lay down their weapons.