Senator Kerry Introduces Resolution on Egypt NGO Crisis

Senator John Kerry (D-MA) introduced S.Res.372 today in the Senate: “Recognizing the importance of the United States-Egypt relationship, and urging the Government of Egypt to protect civil liberties and cease intimidation and prosecution of civil society workers and democracy activists, and for other purposes.”  The resolution was co-sponsored by Senators James Inhofe (R-OK), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Dick Durbin (D-IL).  The bill notes that NDI, IRI, Freedom House, and the International Center for Journalists “had been operating openly in Egypt for many years, had long sought formal registration and had never received rejections of their applications, had exhibited an unprecedented level of transparency, and had only recently become the targets of malicious reporting by state-run media in Egypt.”

The bill notes “restricting the space for civil society engagement dishonors the promise of the Egyptian revolution and could potentially damage the country’s transition to democracy.  The bill urges the Government of Egypt to “protect civil liberties for all citizens, embrace transparency and accountability, and promote the creation of a vibrant civil society; calls upon the Government of Egypt to immediately cease its intimidation and prosecution of civil society workers and democracy activists of all nationalities in Egypt, including Egyptians, and to allow non-Egyptian civil society workers to voluntarily leave the country; and calls on the Government of Egypt to halt harassment, including that conducted via state media, of democracy and human rights activists in Egypt.”