ITALIAN & EU ARMS FUELLING REPRESSION IN EGYPT

We are delighted to announce the public event "Italian & EU Arms Fuelling Repression in Egypt," at the European Parliament on June 28th at 3pm. The event is hosted by MEP Mounir Satouri, and it will address the issue of light arms trade between Egypt and EU member countries.

The public event on EU and Italian-manufactured weapons exported to Egypt and used in human rights violations is going to take place aims at raising awareness among EU decision makers of the importance to uphold key arms trade regulations to prevent EU member states from making themselves complicit in repression in Egypt. 

The panel discussion will bring together civil society organizations, experts, and policymakers to address the role of EU member states as manufacturers and exporters of arms systems misused in Egypt. The discussion will build on the presentation of EgyptWide’s report “Made in Italy to Suppress in Egypt,”  on the export of Italian small arms and light weapons to Egypt, where some of them were found to have been used in human rights violations by state actors. 

The panel will address issues of responsibility and accountability of EU member states for their arms export to Egypt, in light of the existing regulatory framework and of the denunciations of human rights deterioration in the country. 

The event is co-organized in partnership with civil society organizations EgyptWide, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), EuroMed Rights, and the Fédération Internationale pour les Droits Humains (FIDH). 

The panel will be moderated by MEP Mounir Satouri, and will be composed of:

• Alice Franchini (EgyptWide) - research findings on the export of Italian-manufactured Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) to Egypt, and their use in human rights violations.
• Yosra Frawes (International Federation for Human Rights - FIDH) - the arms export from France to Egypt and its problematic implications for human rights.
• Elizabeth Kirkham (SaferWorld) - the international regulatory framework on arms trade, and the existing mechanisms for monitoring arms transfer and misuse.
• Ahmed Attalla (Egyptian Front for Human Rights) - adverse human rights impacts of the export of armaments from the Czech Republic to Egypt.

Attendance is open to the public from remote, while the press and civil society representatives are welcome to participate in presence. In conclusion to the discussion, a Q&A session will be held to allow for participants to engage directly with the speakers. 

French and English simultaneous interpretation will be available. 

To attend, please register at this link by Tuesday, 27 June.

For further information, please contact us at: info@egyptwide.org