Egypt’s parliament on Tuesday approved the country’s first draft law regulating the asylum of foreigners, state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported, despite criticism from rights groups who said the law risks posing risks to refugees’ rights.
The government said the law aims to create a comprehensive legal framework for refugees.
The law stipulates the formation of a new standing committee, headed by the Prime Minister. The commission will take over responsibility for refugee processing, which has so far been carried out by the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.
The commission will be responsible for approving or rejecting asylum claims within a year, while working with UNHCR in the meantime to provide support and services to individuals.
Last week, 22 nonprofits said the law poses “serious risks” to refugees and asylum seekers. They criticized the “fast and almost secret parliamentary process” in which the law was discussed, without the involvement of civil society organizations working with refugees.
They also expressed concern over the impartiality of the committee that will be formed.
The NGOs said the law “raises concerns about the compatibility of the modalities that will ultimately determine the commission’s working criteria with international conventions for the protection of refugees that form the backbone of the current asylum system overseen by UNHCR.”
Lawmaker Ahmed al-Awady, head of parliament’s defense committee, told local television that the law is “very important for Egypt’s national security.”
According to UNHCR, Egypt hosts more than 800,000 registered refugees, mainly from Sudan and Syria.
Egypt has become the largest host country for Sudanese refugees fleeing the ongoing conflict since the war broke out in mid-April 2023, it added.
Al-Awady said there are estimates that there are currently 9 million refugees and migrants in the country, but the new commission will collect accurate data.
The law now awaits ratification by President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi before it can enter into force.
