News

UAE: Call for the release of human rights defender and lawyer Dr. Mohammed Al-Roken

December 10, 2020 Eight years have passed since the unjust arrest of Dr. Mohammed Al-Roken by the UAE State Security services. On July 2, 2013, the Federal Supreme Court convicted and sentenced Dr. Al-Roken to 10 years imprisonment with additional administrative control measures and forbade him from practicing his profession as a lawyer. He has […]

NGOs encourage Sudan’s transitional government to promptly proceed with ratification of UNCAT and ICPPED

In a joint letter sent on December 3, 2020, MENA Rights Group and over 20 other organisations urged the Sudanese government to swiftly ratify both the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances (ICPPED). In October 2020, Sudan's Council of Ministers had taken a first promising step towards turning the page on decades of human rights violations by approving the Conventions' ratification.

Action for Egyptian human rights defenders

The undersigned organisations strongly condemn the persecution of employees of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) and Egyptian civil society by the Egyptian government. We urge the global community and their respective governments to do the same and join us in calling for the release of detained human rights defenders and a stop to […]

France: Macron to Receive Al-Sisi on Heels of Repression

(Paris, December 2, 2020) – French President Emmanuel Macron should strongly press Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to address human rights violations before his upcoming visit to Paris, particularly to release arbitrarily detained activists and human rights defenders. President al-Sisi is scheduled to arrive in Paris on December 7, 2020, for a two-day visit, just […]

NGOs urge Asia-Pacific Group to oppose consideration of Bahrain for President of the Human Rights Council

On December 1st, 2020, MENA Rights Group and 20 other NGOs submitted a joint letter to call on the Human Rights Council's Asia-Pacific Group to refrain from considering Bahrain for President of the Council. In the light of the country's deteriorating human rights record, the election of Bahrain would fundamentally undermine the integrity of the Council:

Joint Letter Calling on Moroccan Authorities to Drop Charges Against Human Rights Defender Maati Monjib

The undersigned civil society organizations call on the Moroccan authorities to immediately end their intimidation and harassment campaign against academic and human rights defender Maati Monjib and drop all baseless charges leveled against him. In October 2015, Monjib, along with six of his colleagues, received their first summons related to unsubstantiated charges of “endangering state […]

NGOs call for the immediate and unconditional release of all Saudi women’s rights defenders

In a joint letter to the president of the Human Rights Commission in Saudi Arabia, Awwad bin Saleh Al Awwad, 28 NGOs called for the immediate and unconditional release of all Saudi women's rights defenders, including dropping all charges against them, and halting all forms of harassment, intimidation and travel bans against their family members.

Solidarity with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights urged by human rights community in open letter to ambassadors and diplomats

In an open letter, over 50 NGOs call on the immediate and unconditional release of Karim Ennarah, Mohammed Basheer and Gasser Abdel-Razek from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).

G20 Leaders: Urge Saudi Arabia to end its human rights violations

November 19, 2020 The Honorable Alberto Fernández, President, Argentina The Honorable Scott Morrison, Prime Minister, Australia The Honorable Jair Bolsonaro, President, Brazil The Honorable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister, Canada The Honorable Xi Jinping, President, China The Honorable Charles Michel, President, European Council The Honorable Ursula von der Leyen, President, European Commission The Honorable Emmanuel Macron, […]

A coalition of NGOs calls on Hillary Clinton and the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security to withdraw from UAE-sponsored Event

A coalition of 14 NGOs delivered a joint letter to Hilary Clinton, the former United States Secretary of State, Melanne Verveer, the Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute, and Agathe Christien, the Hillary Rodham Clinton Research Fellow at the Institute, urging them to withdraw from a Georgetown event sponsored by the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Letter to the President Mohamed Cheikh Mohamed ould Ghazouani calling for a fair and long-term resolution of the “Passif humanitaire”

On the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the independence of Mauritania on 28 November 2020, the Cadre de Concertation des Rescapés Mauritaniens en Europe et aux Etats Unis (CCRM-E/USA) and its member organisations launch an urgent appeal for the settlement of the period commonly referred to as “Passif humanitaire”, a euphemistic term referring to […]

NGOs express concern over the candidacy of UAE’s Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi to the Presidency of INTERPOL

On October 28, 2020, MENA Rights Group and 18 other organisations delivered a joint letter to the Secretary General of INTERPOL, Jürgen Stock, expressing concern over the potential appointement of UAE's Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi to the Presidency of Interpol.